Beyond The Pitch

Phil and Anto are joined by Scotland legend Sandy Jardine to take a look at the many complex and emotional issues surrounding Rangers Football Club now that the decision on relegation has been instituted by football authorities. This begins on the matter of Craig Whyte but also touches the realm of football governance at the doorway of the SFA and SPL who did not have the proper controls in place to perform the necessary due diligence before approving his takeover of the club from Sir David Murray. Sandy is extremely candid and pulls no punches on these matters and several others as a lingering investigation into the use of dual contracts at Rangers FC appear to be in the cards in the weeks and months ahead, which could result in stripped titles and other sanctions given that HMRC is still involved in this process. Sandy provides some insight into how his beloved club will battle whatever allegations emerge and how the club itself regards the practice of Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) used during the Murray tenure as owner. We also examine why Craig Whyte bought the football club knowing the pending financial issues as well as the plans for Rangers FC moving forward now that club has begun the long road to recovery and regaining the trust of its supporters under Charles Green, including the transfer of three new players before the transfer embargo takes effect and a three American players who have some very important decisions to make given that all are within the frame of international duty for the United States. In part two we examine the facts a bit deeper including the prospect of tax free devices such as EBTs and their effect on the transfer market and competitive balance. We also look back at the issues surrounding Bernard Tapie and Marseilles in 1994 as a precedent and exactly why football governance failed Rangers at a very critical time in its history, which lands nowhere else but on the good intentions and emotions of the club supporters who pay the biggest price. Twice named Player of the Year in Scotland and a key man in the Treble teams of 1976 and 1978. Sandy Jardine won three Championships with Rangers, five Scottish Cups, five League Cups and the 1972 European Cup Winners Cup over Dynamo Moscow in Barcelona. He made 674 appearances for Rangers - the third highest all time for the club - scoring 77 goals as one of the best right backs of his generation. Sandy also went on to play in two World Cups, winning 39 caps for Scotland and leading the team nine times as its captain. This is a very candid conversation with a Rangers legend who has been upfront since the process began and will pull no punches in his replies on a very emotional and complex process with one of the biggest names in world football.

Anto and Nico are joined by San Jose Earthquakes broadcaster and former player Kelly Gray to have a great conversation from San Jose on two of the power teams in Major Soccer League Soccer this season - two franchises who share a fabulous history starting in the Bay Area and now to Houston where Dominic Kinnear has built an institution. We look back at the 2006 MLS Cup Final where the success began in Houston, and how that team was built largely finds something of a repeat act in the Earthquakes under Frank Yallop who have begun a remarkable story in 2012. San Jose is a team where the locker room relationships are very similar according to Kelly, where the team has been able to establish a great deal of depth by MLS standards and continues to find its success in the sum of the parts. We also explore the emergence of some key figures in Chris Wondolowski, Alan Gordon and Steven Lenhart who continue to provide late match comebacks and surprises like no other team in the league. We look at key turning points in the season, what makes this edition of the Earthquakes so successful and the challenges that lay ahead. We discuss the chemistry, the players, the coaching and how San Jose has largely established itself as a top contender for both the MLS Supporters Shield and MLS Cup as the campaign heads for the playoffs. We also examine the team for potential weak spots and how their depth continues to provide cover for Frank Yallop and how the team approaches opponents. We also look at the next phase for Kelly Gray as he moves more toward coaching with his Academy and tackle the issue of versatility in soccer players and whether this is a positive thing for a career. Kelly also gives us some insight into some of his coaching philosophies and get underneath some of the key figures in his career as a player. Kelly featured as both a defender and midfielder for Chicago Fire, San Jose Earthquakes twice under very unique circumstances, then to Houston Dynamo where he won MLS Cup in 2006, Los Angles Galaxy and Colorado Rapids before returning back to home with San Jose.

Phil and Anto are joined by Professor Stefan Szymanski of the University of Michigan and sports economist of Soccernomics notoriety to debate his most recent article on Forbes.com where he explores Manchester United under the Glazier ownership both in terms of his theoretical angle up against where many club supporters reside in relationship to his provocative premise. This is designed as an article meant to be thought-provoking, but beneath that surface are some real world implications that bear discussion as the Glaziers move toward an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in tandem with its newly established Cayman Islands registry. The discussion evolves across a variety of fronts but in stark contrast is the evolution of traditional England club culture toward commercial enterprises over the past decade and how this phenomenon is resisted and debated now that finances are put into clear view - resulting in a collision between culture and finance. From a financial perspective the implications are very complex, from the surging levels of debt to the lack of transparency from club administration and how the future commercial implications will be resolved. However, we also explore how the cultural fractures are just as complex as well, and that is where the conversation begins to reflect the raw emotions that this episode uncovers. In many ways, the cultural complexities have been largely overlooked by a financially intricate relationship in modern football through a concert of commercial deals, increased financial competition and match day expenditures that have filtered down to fans and supporters. We also engage on the matter of anti-Americanism that has been alleged - among other alleged sentiments - which serve as a distraction to the main areas of concern to Manchester United supporters groups. We climb underneath a number of volatile issues surrounding the Glazier tenure in a very emotional episode where facts, emotions and perceptions are measured and analyzed to their fullest. We also gauge the evolution of football club supporters against a context of other American sports, which is where the Glaziers base a lot of their relationship to their sports properties, and how American sports economics is largely being repeated in the English Premier League and Manchester United, in particular. Professor Szymanski also provided oral testimony into a Football Governance Inquiry that examined the state of football governance in the UK for the House of Commons, Culture Media and Sport Committee chaired by John Whittingdale, has written numerous books on the subjects of sports management and economics, sport history, culture and society so this episode is well worth the listen.

Anto is joined once again by Sean Hamil of the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre in London to take a look back at the 2011 House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee Enquiry into the Governance of Football that attempted to take a very thorough and sobering look at how football was being managed in the UK to examine what effect it had over the longer term view. Having provided oral evidence during this process, Sean provides a serious level of analysis into what the this important committee got right, how it provided a degree of visibility to examine regulation as part of a successful licensing system while also pointing out some of the factors that still need our attention. At the center of this discussion is the ongoing debate surrounding the Football Creditors Rule, UEFA Financial Fair Play and recent events with Rangers as case study that should be considered as a serious warning signal as its practices with debt and ongoing liability with HMRC are more rule than exception. Also discussed here is the recent Premier League TV rights deal signed with BSkyB and BT and that it says more about the negotiating power of football than the value of the enterprise itself. We also get into a deeper examination of how football in Europe continues to drift further toward other league systems that are found in the NFL and NBA, among others. We also separate the theoretical elements of UEFA Financial Fair Play from its perception in the mainstream and how there appears to be a high degree of belief that high spending clubs will ever be reigned in during this process, and why the transition to UEFA FFP will continue to be a very messy process given the many disparate systems found all across Europe, beginning with the big five leagues of Europe. Since joining Birkbeck, Sean has focused on his core interest - the corporate governance and regulation of sport on which he has written and co-edited an extensive range of articles - notably the 2001-2003 editions of the State of the Game corporate governance of English football review - and a number of books including, The Changing Face of the Football Business: Supporters Direct, Football in the Digital Age: Whose Game Is It Anyway, and A Game of Two Halves? The Business of Football. Most recently he is co-editor of Managing Football: An International Perspective, and author and co-editor of Who Owns Football? The Governance and Management of the Club Game Worldwide.

Anto and Nico are back with another episode of Inside MLS with special guest Revolution defender AJ Soares, who in his second year has made a very important leap under first year head coach Jay Heaps. Taken by New England as the sixth overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, he has become a clear fixture along the backline for a team now aiming to make the playoffs with every key Eastern Conference opponent still left on their schedule, even after trading its captain, Shalrie Joseph midweek. We take a look at how this season has been very different in New England, what important changes Jay Heaps as brought to the Revs and examine many of the key arrivals this off-season which in concert have clearly turned the tide for a team that limped across the finish line a year ago. This includes arrivals such as Clyde Simms. Lee Nguyen and striker sensation Saër Sène who has already left his mark on the league with nine goals. The big question for defenders in MLS is whether AJ Soares now becomes a part of another class of young US defenders now that Tim Ream and Geoff Cameron have left for England and whether AJ could be one of those key players next to emerge. We also look into what will help the Revolution reach the playoffs, some of the characters on the team who give the squad character and some of the influences that help deliver AJ Soares to the sport ... you may be surprised to learn who they are. In part two Anto and Nico take another look at the Revolution and the Shalrie Joseph trade and why it more than likely had to be made and how the economics of MLS were large contributing factors. We also look at the Revolution record of foreign player buys and why this off-season seems to have bucked their trend of not finding value and why that means success as well. Loads here on the New England Revolution and a quick follow up on the heat game in New York that continues to find casualties - this time an unsuspected one as reported by the New York media on the heels of a great signing in Tim Cahill.

Phil and Doron are back with another episode of the Manchester United Show on the heels of a monumental announcement that the Glazer family is about to proceed on the matter of an IPO that appears to enrich themselves further whilst leaving the club in additional debt. Joining in on these proceedings are two distinguished guests who can cut through the emotions and press releases in full bloom, the always brilliant Andy Green to help us climb underneath the hood to add perspective on the financial ramifications and Duncan Drasdo, the CEO of the Manchester United Supporters Trust, to provide additional clarity into the state of tactics that supporters might employ to resist this effort. Andy and Duncan take on the forthcoming flotation on the New York Stock Exchange from both an operational and financial perspective and provide cold, hard analysis into what this move means for the club and pull back the veil on the numbers themselves, both on the IPO itself and the resolve of the supporters themselves with a serious look in how effective match day demonstrations really have in the great scheme of earned revenue. We also examine how this latest move by the Glazers rests more on wishful thinking, rather than sound investment logic. Also discussed is a new sponsorship deal and how that again follows a well-worn blueprint that in this case might come at a real cost given the length of the deal with Chevrolet. There is loads to digest here, including what these financials mean in real world application for the club, where this raised cash appears to be headed and why the ownership group may be in a perilous moment given the valuation of the asset in whole. This interview with two highly informed opinions is incredibly important as both Andy and Duncan put the matter of this IPO into proper context on a number of fronts. In the second half of the show Phil and Doron examine the pre-season tour, youth players and take a stab at what they believe will be the starting lineup for matchday one against Everton Football Club, with the hint of a tactical shift in the cards, moving the team to accommodate new arrival Shinji Kagawa whilst preparing the highly needed return of Nemanja Vidic to the Starting XI. We take your questions as always from Twitter and Facebook, another loaded episode filled with plenty of analysis both on and off the pitch.

Anto is once again joined by grassroots and youth development guru Tom Byer from Tokyo, Japan for a very special announcement on his immediate future that will introduce him to the biggest challenge of his professional career, taking his work and his message to the emerging nation of China who stand to produce the largest pool of young talent in the history of the sport. Tom grew up in America but moved to Japan nearly 25 years ago when opportunities for soccer players were extremely limited in the 1980s, but its the second part of his career that has taken him across the world with a very unique message. He has conducted more than 2,000 soccer events for more than 500,000 children and appeared on a nationally televised daily show for 13 years in which Tom has been the foundation for the development of soccer technical training for a Japanese nation which has found unprecedented success at the international level. And now he is taking this technical training system and message to China, a country with more than 300 million children under the age of 14 with incredible resources and ambition for football, a perfect marriage of means and brilliance which could see this giant emerge like no other nation in the next 5-15 years in this game. Tom takes us through his recent travels around the world where he has delivered his message for youth development and how this landmark opportunity came about and what some of the challenges will be once he arrives in China. This is an exclusive interview with what could be the very first important steps of seeing the most populous nation in the world embrace football and could change perceptions about the Chinese game and the sport in the Far East for generations to come. Tom Byer, also known as Tomsan in Japan, is synonymous with excellence in developing technical skills at the grassroots level and has had a large hand in the development of both the boys and girls programs within the JFA Elite program and many of the best Japanese players on the world stage today find their foundation in the work that he has done over the years.

Phil and Anto are joined by new first team manager of Swansea City Football Club and Denmark midfield legend, Michael Laudrup, to take a look at the new challenge for the football club in year two in the Premier League and the what was behind his move to a club a year removed from something of a darling in the EPL. We examine the attraction between the club and its new manager based not only on the short passing and possession game, but also a Spanish accent that has been at Swansea City since 2007, when the playing style moved to a more continental approach. We also ask Michael Laudrup about the rumors involving Joe Allen and a potential move as well as some of the smart arrivals at Liberty Stadium in the names of Chico from Genoa CFC and attacking midfielder Michu from Rayo Vallecano, after a breakout season in La Liga. We get underneath the challenge for a club in its second season in the Premiership where the early intensity might be a bit different year to year and does require additional approaches to its game to break from the way many opponents will now deal with their success. Also examined is the process for Swansea during its preseason tour in the United States, how the coaching staff will evaluate the squad and get some impressions about the evolution of the American game over the years, from a legendary player who has played US based teams a couple decades ago. We also look at a legendary career and take a moment to reflect on how an exceptional player and football mind adjusts his expectations given that his skill set was far advanced from the average player, whether that be at Swansea City or virtually any other football club. This question only becomes relevant for a football legend like Michael Laudrup - selected as the Golden Player of Denmark as their most outstanding player in the past 50 years, the gold standard for midfielders as his legendary career delivered him to clubs such as Juventus, Lazio, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Ajax. Winner of five straight La Liga titles, domestic titles in Italy with Juventus and the Netherlands with Ajax, the European Cup with Barcelona, an Intercontinental Cup and a Confederations Cup victory in 1995 for his country, Denmark. Michael Laudrup delivers this extraordinary cache and experience to both Swansea City Football Club in its centinary season and the Barclays Premier League.

Phil and Anto are joined by world-recognized sports journalist and commentator Gabriele Marcotti to discuss some of the big stories in Italian football beginning with match fixing charges that have now been leveled at 44 individuals and 13 football clubs in an ongoing process that has both serious and confusing application given the nature of the allegations. Much of this now involves Antonio Conte at Juventus, who as manager faces some unclear consequences given the nature of the charges and whether he could receive a substantial ban from the Juventus bench for a number of months. We discuss the nature of the charges, the dubious quality of the persons who provided evidence and what the real world implications seem to suggest. This has all been done against a landscape where Europe legislates betting activity with unequal zeal and applies its laws and civil liberties differently. Even more important is just how pervasive sports betting is in Europe with respect to football and we consider whether more regulation or prohibition is a serious possibility. Then we turn to the matter of AC Milan who has begun wholesale changes to its club by releasing a large number of veteran players and then the sale of its two top assets in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva to PSG in Ligue 1, and then to whether the longer term plan for the Rossoneri becomes compromised should the club ultimately negotiate for the return of Kaka to the fold. We evaluate what Milan has begun to do, some of the holes in the squad and what should be the approach going forward and if Milan will continue to approach this offseason with a degree of sanity over sentimentality. Lots here on strategy, whether there are problems for Antonio Cassano and if Carlos Tevez or Eden Dzeko could delay the development of a potential Pato and Stephan El Shaarawy partnership. Also in focus here is the excitement building at AS Roma with Zdenek Zeman and even more smart closed season purchases like Leandro Castan, Panagiotis Tachtsidis, Mattia Destro and Michael Bradley. Even more in focus here is Inter which has also pressed the reset switch in part under Andrea Stramaccioni with mixed reviews, whether comments of late by Mino Raiola on Edinson Cavani are a strange or worrying sign and whether the Robin Van Persie rumors to Juventus have finally come to a close given recent comments made by the Beppe Marotta and whether Manchester City seems poised to make a move once some of their strikers can be moved out of the club while facing their own Financial Fair Play concerns.

Anto and Nico on a special edition of Inside MLS in the afterglow of a very successful All Star victory over Chelsea Football Club, but in focus to begin this episode is an interesting chat with Dan Wiersema of Free Beer Movement to take a look at his grassroots movement - Build American Soccer One Beer at a Time - and how the process looks both inside the process and a look at the challenges facing soccer in this very competitive sports marketplace. Not only do we have a chat on soccer and developing fans and media placement overall for soccer in the US, but also we take a moment to reflect on some great beer selections to help fans enjoy the experience all summer as playoff positioning comes into focus after this All-Star victory. Dan gives us some recommendations as well and gives us the view from the street level of converting more and more soccer fans all the time, along with what needs to happen in the media longer term for this sport to take its next step. In the second part of the show we talk about the concept of All-Star games, why they are important in the US sports market and whether this is the best format going forward. This also includes a look back at some positive signs for MLS, how the event seems to be approaching a product closer to the NBA and some suggestions for the future. We also look at the Tim Cahill signing for New York, some shuffling in the strikers for the Whitecaps with Kenny Miller and how these moves might just help both clubs substantially in the second half of the season. More success for Michael Bradley in the summer pre-season, more admiration for Toto Wondolowski and a look at building fans through this key summer time period for Major League Soccer. More on Free Beer Movement: We are a grassroots movement of American soccer fans sharing our passion for the game with, and to educate, not-yet-converted, but willing, friends, family, and colleagues in exchange for a beer here and there. It is a modest idea to create new and future fans of the game through the power of free beer.

Anto is joined by the Co-Director and General Counsel of the ChangeFIFA organization, David Larkin, to take a look at the ever-evolving political landscape as it applies to Sepp Blatter and FIFA given new allegations in the wake of two very important developments - a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which has annulled a ruling against a lifetime ban for former FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam, and a PriceWaterhouse Cooper (PWC) audit into the financial affairs of the AFC. But even deeper still, these events serve as an exploration of old skeletons involving ISL and how that scandal was handled by the FIFA Ethics Committee, and whether a repeat of that playbook will soon involved Mr Bin Hammam much in the way that Jack Warner and other political adversaries have been handled in the past. We examine the CAS decision and what it may mean in the political realm as well as how the media machine behind FIFA will once again use this event to its own sense of expediency, as Sepp Blatter and his predecessors have done for decades. We also look into how politics works inside the FIFA organization, how the one nation-one vote process ensures an almost colonial approach to how FIFA conducts its business and how investigations without transparency and accountability are used as a political weapon, and how blocks of votes are acquired by the leadership to maintain total power on both the Executive and Emergency Committees. We also revisit how Sepp Blatter came to power and the many base ironies and hard contradictions that were at once revealed and how this ongoing process of trying to deconstruct the factions is a reflection of the organization itself. We also re-calibrate the events involving CONCACAF, the CFU and Jack Warner and how political forces are marshaled, and why the Bin Hammam candidacy serves as a very important lesson and may actually forecast how FIFA will try to inoculate itself against recent ISL revelations. More importantly, however, we also look at how Mr Bin Hamman and the Qatar 2022 World Cup bid are being incorrectly intertwined and how this may hold a key to yet another Sepp Blatter re-election effort in 2015 given how factions have aligned themselves based entirely on self-interest and economics. We also look at what became the catalyst for the ChangeFIFA movement, the key people involved, the heroic figures who continue the fight for FIFA reform and why events may be forcing a tipping point for change at last.

Anto and Nico are back with another episode of Inside MLS with special guest Frank Klopas, head coach of Chicago Fire, on the heels of a very difficult match in New York decided by a remarkable goal by Thierry Henry in extreme heat at Red Bull Arena. But more importantly, the Fire have emerged this season as something of a surprise having built on the progress of last season as the All-Star break approaches and the team find itself with a 10 day break between MLS fixtures leading into a very difficult run down the stretch starting with San Jose Earthquakes and a string of matches that will be against only Eastern Conference teams for the rest of the season. We obviously hit the talking points about the extreme heat this time of year, how clubs manage their players for safety and minutes, and specifically how the tactics change in response to the conditions. Also covered is the strength of the Fire team which is the way it organizes itself week upon week, largely built on a solid defensive team with an emerging young goalkeeper in Sean Johnson who has only surrendered three goals in his last five matches. Frank also takes questions on the Marco Pappa contract status and how the club will address the situation and whether Alex is the like for like in the event that Europe does come calling for Pappa. There are also questions about the challenge of defending Chris Wondolowski who will be the game within a game challenge for Chicago as the San Jose striker will pose a huge problem for any team given his form all season. We also examine how players are rotated and measured within a Major League Soccer team in terms of technology and its application through fitness specialists, really worth a listen for MLS fans not normally exposed to this kind of information. Then we turn to a number of topics in the second part of the show where we tackle the issues going forward for Chicago Fire, serious problems at FC Dallas between Brek Shea and its head coach Schellas Hyndman, the Michael Bradley move to AS Roma, whether Chris Wondolowski will catch the Roy Lassiter goalscoring record and why he might just fall short and the pending Geoff Cameron move to Stoke City. Whether you follow Chicago Fire or just want some fresh opinions on MLS and US Soccer, in general, another Inside MLS episode worth the listen.

Anto is joined once again with TV Globo commentator Bira Brasil to look back at the groundbreaking win for Corinthians in the Copa Libertadores, the first for one of the truly massive clubs in South America, as well as a summer which has also been a sign for the Brasiliero that clubs are bringing more stars back to Brazil. But the story begins with Corinthians and its coach, Tite, who has delivered the Sao Paulo club to its first continental title and has unseated Santos as the dominant force in Brazil on the heels of its Campeonato Brasileiro title in 2011. We also examine a very interesting transfer campaign in Brazil with some key arrivals in Seedorf, Forlan and Paolo Guerrero who now reflect an emerging presence because of the qualities each of these players still have at this stage of their careers. We also examine the Ganso situation at Santos which has gone completely south and looks beyond repair this time - but more importantly, what went wrong for Ganso and what he needs to do next to get back on track. Then we turn our attention to a pair of Corinthians defenders in Dodo and Leandro Castan who have made the move to AS Roma and what they will provide Zeman in the Italian Serie A. We also gauge the moves that have not happened just yet and the bids that have been rejected - including the likes of Romarinho and Paulinho who are attempting to find value for two young starlets. That leads us into another discussion into the wild world of Ronaldinho since his return to Brazil, including the most expensive soft drink can in history and how the legend made the move from Flamengo to Atletico Mineiro on a reduced wage deal and whether Belo Horizonte might present another set of problems given the nightlife and if he can find new motivation at the club. Then we turn to the matter of the Summer Olympics for the Brazil team and examine some of the recent Romario comments to consider to whom his negative comments were directed. Brazil seems obsessed with finally winning the Gold Medal that has eluded them on the world stage, but Bira is not so sure that this is an accurate reflection of the mentality required to win the World Cup in 2014, as the competition is more of a youth tournament than a simulation. Even more here on Dede and Lucas Moura and why the potential move of Ganso to Internacional might be the sign that Oscar is on his way to Europe after the Olympics.

Anto and Matteo are back for a very important Milan Insider for a very frank discussion into all the factors surrounding the moves this off-season, beginning with many past legends being allowed to leave and culminating with the sales of Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to PSG by the Rossoneri. We evaluate the decisions with perspective into the sporting, financial and holistic landscapes as not one of these issues have been handled in a vacuum - beginning with the serious sporting aspect which seems unprecedented on the surface, the financial aspect which is in part being directed by UEFA Financial Fair Play and a market correction after years of deficit football bankrolled by Silvio Berlusconi, and emerging recognition that these recent editions of the squad have not necessarily reflected the culture and expectations of an AC Milan team. We look at where the biggest mistakes were made in 2008 and how the club did ignore some warning signs and responded more to political pressures than sound business in its transfer strategy and how the new financial reality in Europe has now forced the board and ownership group to fully address what is now a clear need - the serious need to rebuild the club from its foundation with the goal of turning a page from a generation that was holding more onto its history over the past decade with little innovation and revitalization, clear hallmarks of the most successful club in the world when the Rossoneri dominated football. We also examine the competitive record against the top five clubs in Serie A, team performance over the last two years in the Champions League in relationship to the finances and how a club that was paying the fifth highest averages wages with a bloated roster was clearly underperforming. Clear accountability for this result can be traced back to the onset of Calciopoli and falling out of Champions League football a year after winning the Champions League and how the inevitable was ignored for far too long. In that sense the Silva and Zlatan sales are a reflection of the neglect and how the club has finally awakened to the financial challenges that await the club in the coming years. We take loads of yours questions, break down the key financial talking points and lay out where we believe the club should move next and what they should avoid. This includes reflecting on how leadership at Milan in the figures of Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani have been warning its club supporters, dissect the key declarations that were largely overlooked and ignored, and why the scenario for AC Milan is not nearly as bleak as it is being portrayed once performing the analysis on the club itself, its competitors in Serie A, future management direction and what it will take to move ahead in Europe again.

Anto is joined by independent award-winning documentary photographer Jason Andrew to talk about the stories behind his recent work in Turkey where he has documented the arrival of 40 Nigerian players in Istanbul who represent the continued and intensifying practice of trafficking African footballers all over the world. This tragedy is part deception, part exploitation and opens the practice of human trafficking to all the controversies involving immigration worldwide, given the massive numbers of people who are being shuttled across borders in search of a dream. Jason, through his camera, has given us a stark view into what this world looks and feels like, how these Africans live in a strange and foreign land with barely the means to survive, and how this new world has segregated them and continues to exploit them. On a broader scale, roughly 1 million illegal immigrants are considered in transit from Turkey to Europe and many of them will end up in Greece and allocate themselves in the newly founded ghettos in the centre of Athens, in the port of Patras or in various locations in the countryside, thus adding up to the 2.5 million illegal aliens already present in Greece. About 8 out of 10 immigrants traveling to Europe come through the Turkish/Greek border system. Consequently, this is as much a football story as much as it is an immigration story along the Greece and Turkey border where literally thousands continue to enter against an 8 billion dollar industry that shows only signs of increasing and growing in size and scope. The trafficking operations are becoming more sophisticated and organized and there is no shortage of people looking to chase the dream. Families pool their cash, sell their businesses and empty their life savings to give their sons a chance - only to discover that this has been a scam, leaving these Lost Boys deposited on the streets of Istanbul and thousands of cities. This is a world where counterfeit passports and social media tools thrive as this process has become more successful - on the one hand by recruiters and traffickers who have widened their net, and on the other by the players who wish to conceal this dirty secret and move along to countries such as Germany, France and England. Jason also explains his further intentions with this project and his expectations as he looks to return to Turkey in the coming days to resume the project and why this has become such a passion reflected in his work. This is a story about a generation of Lost Boys from Africa, the dangerous and damaging consequences of modern immigration and a photojournalist who discovered a terrible part of the world and could not turn away. We examine all the pieces, from the tragedy itself, how immigration has been politicized and why a solution will never be easy given the real economic factors worldwide.