Interview with Andrew Jennings, Investigative Journalist, Author of Foul! and founder of Transparencyinsport.org

Soccerlens is very pleased to welcome a respected investigative journalist and film maker, Mr. Andrew Jennings, whose recent book, “Foul! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote Rigging and Ticket Scandals” painted FIFA in a hue that many at the world governing body would have rather not seen. Mr. Jennings is one of the few journalists who have written extensively about the inner workings at FIFA.

Mr. Jennings is the founder of Transparencyinsport.org, which is a site dedicated to his unique style of journalism and investigative projects.

Interview with Andrew Jennings, Investigative Journalist, Author of Foul! and founder of Transparencyinsport.org

“I have made a life and living out of chasing bad men.”

Recently, he opened the new Chelsea Journalism Centre at the Chelsea School, Eastbourne, University of Brighton.

“This course is the only BA (Hons) in Sport Journalism in the country to be accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). Students have the opportunity to graduate with the NCTJ Certificate in Newspaper Journalism – the most recognised professional qualification in journalism.”

Interview with Andrew Jennings, Investigative Journalist, Author of Foul! and founder of Transparencyinsport.org

Football Writer of the Year for 2006-2007 by The Football Supporters’ Federation

Interview with Andrew Jennings, Investigative Journalist, Author of Foul! and founder of Transparencyinsport.org

Published Books (Text courtesy of Transparencyinsport.org).

1989: Scotland Yard’s Cocaine Connection. The story of the strange relationship between London’s top gangster and the city’s top detective – and how the cop never arrested the crook who organised Britain’s biggest ever cocaine importation.

1992: The Lords of the Rings was a smash hit translated into 13 languages. The Lords and its disclosures of Olympic corruption and the fascist background of the IOC president changed world perceptions of the organization forever. Published in USA as Dishonest Games. Sports Illustrated lists it as one of the Top One Hundred Sports Books of all Time.

1996: The New Lords of the Rings: Olympic Corruption & How to Buy Gold Medals. Top of the UK best-selling sports books list for five weeks and in top ten of all sports books published that year. Translated into German, Danish, Norwegian, Japanese and Spanish. Pirated in Chinese – twice, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and in Korean.

2000: The Great Olympic Swindle. The explosive story of organised crime and the Olympics, how the IOC fooled the world into thinking it reformed itself after the cash-and-sex-for-votes scandals – and the secret documents revealing how the IOC spent $2 million on American spin-doctors to mislead a pliant media.

2006: Foul! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote-rigging and Ticket Scandals. Harper Collins. Andrew’s new book about FIFA is in 11 languages, despite an attempt by Herr Blatter using FIFA funds in Switzerland to persuade a Zurich court to impose a global ban (Yes, global, really!)

Interview with Andrew Jennings, Investigative Journalist, Author of Foul! and founder of Transparencyinsport.org

Amazon UK Link for Foul!

Mr. Jennings also produced a BBC Panorama documentary about the book, entitled, “The Beautiful Bung.”

Interview with Andrew Jennings (Audio)

You can listen to the interview by clicking the ‘Play’ button below (1 hour) or downloading the audio by right-clicking and selecting ‘Save’ here (25-30mb, .mp3).

[audio:https://sportslens.com/audio/andrew-jennings-oct-08.mp3]

Interview Transcripts

Part 1: The Craft of Journalism: “Google will not replace shoe leather.”
Part 2: FIFA, Sepp Blatter and Bribes (Tuesday)
Part 3: Vote Riggings and Ticket Scandals at FIFA (Wednesday)
Part 4: The Future of FIFA (Thursday)

Images courtesy of Andrew Jennings.

Steve Amoia is the author and editor of the World Football Commentaries blog. He has written for AC Cugini Scuola Calcio, Keeper Skool, and Soccerlens.

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