4
As the 2022 World Cup in Qatar drew to a close, there was a bitter undercurrent to Argentina’s triumph.
Throughout the tournament, numerous allegations of sportswashing and financial misconduct had been made against the state of Qatar, moving what had previously been a smaller conversation into the worldwide spotlight.
The question had been asked, who really owns and runs football?
Journeying from Abu Dhabi to Newcastle, and onto London, Paris, Moscow and New York, journalist Miguel Delaney
investigates the allegations of sportswashing and misconduct in the beautiful game.
The result is a gripping account of how football has been taken over by the world’s wealthiest businessmen, state-backed corporations, media tycoons and oil-rich oligarchs.
From Neymar’s £198 million transfer to Paris Saint-Germain and Abu Dhabi’s construction empire in Manchester to failed
Financial Fair Play constraints and the dawn of the European Super League, Miguel draws on exclusive interviews and
unprecedented access to key stakeholders to produce an all-encompassing exposé of modern footballs highest echelons.
Authoritative, riveting and eye-opening, States of Play reveals how football has become a tool for the world’s elite.
Miguel Delaney was a former Soccer Correspondent with the now defunct Dublin-based newspaper, the Sunday Tribune and is now the chief football writer at the Independent.
The Greystones native has been nominated for several interntaional awards, including the Football Supporters’ Association
Writer of the Year, British Journalism Awards Sports Journalist of the Year and SJA Sports Writer of the Year.
He is one of football’s leading journalists, described as the conscience of football in Britain, and has covered 14 consecutive Champions League finals, four World Cups, and five European Championships, amongst others.
