Jerome Valcke – Declan Hill – Investigative Journalist & Academic

12MayMay 12, 2016

King of the Mediocre

On the bright side, he has never actually been convicted of fraud, racketeering or money laundering. He has also never been arrested for corruption. No has ever caught him on hidden camera offering bribes or election gifts. Ummmm... well, thats about it really. The news that Canada's own Victor Montagliani was elected president of CONCACAF, the continental confederation in FIFA representing North, Central America and the Caribbean, is another underwhelming sign of the lack of reform inside FIFA. For international readers here...

17SepSeptember 17, 2015

Its Going to Get Really Bad

There will be more arrests in the FIFA scandal. I am not speaking of Loretta Lynch’s cheeky announcement this week in Zurich. I am not speaking of Jerome Valcke being relieved of his duties. I spoke this week with a number of key people with close connections with the US FBI investigation. What they have discovered in newly-gathered documents about certain key individuals in the soccer world is shocking. More pertinently, they now the internal documents to bring about these arrests. Stay tuned. It...

03JunJune 3, 2015

10 Thoughts on Sepp Blatter’s Resignation

1- There are lots of people in the FIFA world who are far, far worse than Blatter. 2- It is possible that after the next FIFA election we could wind up with a president who will make us feel nostalgic for Blatter. 3- Blatter and his group at Zurich ran effective protection for national football federations around the world when they faced criminal investigations for corruption. From Nigeria to Iran to Greece – when governments, police forces and law enforcement have...

01JunJune 1, 2015

Loud Booing, Bridge of Lies & South African Fix

What to do if you're a Canadian soccer fan. It is very simple. Cheer the players: Boo the soccer officials. Anytime a FIFA official walks on the pitch or addresses the crowd: boo and jeer them. For good measure, make signs that denounce them. At these international events, FIFA officials’ usual trick is to make sure they are only seen on the pitches accompanied by fashion models or small children in costumes. Ignore the models, respect the children, but jeer the FIFA officials. Remember, this...