Football and fat fees: questions raised over funding of sporting conference

After Russia’s wildly successful World Cup, the eyes of the sporting world have turned to the next host, Qatar – and a recent event in London gave an indication of the scrutiny that lies ahead for the controversial organisers, and of the Middle Eastern diplomatic battle that will shadow the tournament. Journalists who attended the launch of the Foundation For Sports Integrity at the Four Seasons hotel were ushered through security to watch a series of panels featuring high-profile guests. The former Manchester United footballer Louis Saha appeared in a discussion alongside the former FA chairman Greg Dyke. Other guests included Damian Collins MP and the former US women’s goalkeeper Hope Solo. But as well as the guest list and the glamorous surroundings, there was another striking feature of the event: questions over the funding of the previously unknown organisation, which was unveiling itself at short notice with a lavish conference and a public commitment to stamping out corruption in world sport. Several guests received fees in the thousands of pounds and stayed in expensive hotels. Substantial sums appeared to have been spent staging the event and producing professional videos of the discussions, which regularly questioned the decision to award… Read full this story

Football and fat fees: questions raised over funding of sporting conference have 286 words, post on www.theguardian.com at July 16, 2018. This is cached page on Vietnam Art News. If you want remove this page, please contact us.