South Africa – Declan Hill – Investigative Journalist & Academic

14JunJune 14, 2018

Why the Match Fixers are at the World Cup in Russia

The hot tub of World Cup match-fixing This article first appeared on playthegame.org Potential corruption and match-fixing at the World Cup is aided by corrupt national football association officials, . FIFA’s ‘often odd’ attitude towards these officials protects the fixers at the World Cup. Uncle Frankie, the match-fixer, sat in the hot tub with players from the Swedish World Cup team. It was in a Los Angeles Hotel before their third-place match with Bulgaria at the 1994 World Cup. Uncle Frankie offered the...

Kunduz, Cubans & They Do Not Want to Die

Why are the armies trained by the American military so bad? Taliban fighters with a capture Humvee outside Kunduz, Afghanistan It is one of the key questions of current-day foreign affairs and yet few people ask it. We have interminable media discussions of the military strength of IS or the Taliban: yet little of why the local armies that are purportedly fighting against them are so ineffective? It is worth examining this question with the news this week that the Taliban have...

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...