Martyn Ziegler

Martyn Ziegler’s investigation into global organised crime networks controlling the piracy of TV football and other sports will have given many readers pause. “Loads of people do it,” said one interviewee, who knew he was breaking the law by watching an illegal stream, but claimed the cost saving justified it. Ziegler tracked down and interviewed ‘pirates’ running illegal operations, which are “parasitical and a potential industry killer.” 

Two further exclusives also set the sports news agenda and gained international attention. Ziegler revealed that the Premier League was investigating Chelsea for breaking FIFA rules and paying millions of pounds to secretive offshore companies, some linked to football agents and intermediaries, and even players’ families. He worked with the makers of a documentary to break the story of £30m ‘sponsorship money’ paid to Manchester City by a mystery Middle Eastern businessman, revealing that the payments are at the centre of 115 alleged breaches of financial rules which led to charges being brought by the Premier League against the club. 

Judges praised Ziegler’s “appetite for exclusives” and bravery in challenging the big clubs, which he achieved through painstaking research. His “keen interest” in money in sport is “an area that merits greater journalistic scrutiny,” they added.