More than 30 stadia in Africa are currently deemed unfit by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and many countries are forced to play national matches abroad. Steve Menary provides an overview of the challenges arising from unfit stadiums in both Africa and the Caribbean region.

Analysis: The recent World Cup in football was named “the best ever” by the FIFA President. But from an economic point of view, its legacy is questionable. The investments surpassing 25 billion USD may turn out to be highly disproportionate to the benefits. Economist Matthias Fett looks at the numbers.

Iranian women will be permitted to enter in Azadi Stadium tonight to watch their national football team playing against Portugal, A Tehran stadium manager said.

Abjeez, an Iranian girl band, released a music video calling on men’s support to end Iranian discriminatory ban on women in stadiums. The song is part of the public discussion of the ongoing campaign for Iranian women’s right to attend football matches.

With the prospect of runaway expenses, the Japanese government last month pulled the brake and launched a new design contest for Tokyo’s new Olympic stadium. But the debate about who is to blame for the fiasco continues.

While stadium construction is being shelved for various political reasons in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, Qatar is moving full steam ahead with its preparations for the World Cup, including the construction of at least eight stadia that would be dismantled after the tournament.

Hosting the most compact Games ever has been one of Tokyo’s selling points since the city won the 2020 Olympics’ hosting rights. But as the Tokyo bid has had to realise, making a geographically compact event is not always economically compact.

Nordic Venue Forum will gather professionals in the venue industry for a two-day conference, taking place 14-15 April 2015 in Aarhus, Denmark.