OCCRP and SIRAJ journalists have been awarded a prize for their investigation into nepotism and financial irregularities in Syrian football

OCCRP and SIRAJ journalists have been awarded a prize for their investigation into nepotism and financial irregularities in Syrian football

A joint investigation by OCCRP and SIRAJ was recognized by the International Sports Press Association for uncovering how the Assad regime’s inner circle hijacked the national football federation for personal gain.

A joint investigation by OCCRP and its Syrian partner SIRAJ won a top international sports journalism award for exposing deep-rooted nepotism and graft within Syrian football.

The Switzerland-based International Sports Press Association (AIPS) recognized the outlets in its Investigative Journalism category. The winning report revealed how Maher al-Assad, brother of Syria’s former president, pressured the national football federation into awarding a lucrative, no-tender marketing contract to a little-known agency owned by his nephew by marriage. The deal granted the agency an unusually large 35 percent cut of marketing revenues.

SIRAJ reporters Bassel Alhamdou and Mazen Al Hindi spent months securing exclusive documents proving the contract was awarded solely based on family ties.

Accepting the award at the April 11 ceremony, Alhamdou highlighted the severe risks of investigating the former regime. "I want to share this award with family, my wife and children, whom I put in danger because of my work," he said.

The collapse of the Assad government last December dismantled a massive patronage network, which included illicit businesses controlled by Maher al-Assad’s heavily sanctioned Fourth Armoured Division.

While current Syrian President Sharaa pledged in his January inaugural address to eradicate corruption and favoritism, nepotism remains a feature of the country’s governance. The president’s brother, Hazem Al-Sharaa, currently serves as vice president of the Supreme Council for Economic Development, though the president did order the closure of another brother’s Damascus-based business office last October.