Sportswashing: Manchester, Newcastle 'easy' targets — report

The takeovers of Manchester City and Newcastle United by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia respectively were facilitated by local social, economic and political conditions which made the clubs and their cities easy targets for sportswashing, according to a new report.

In "Easy Cities to Buy," published on Friday, the human rights research organization FairSquare details how local politicians in both Manchester and Newcastle have not only failed to speak out against the human rights abuses committed by the nation states which have purchased football clubs in their cities, but have actively encouraged and supported such takeovers.

For context, the report explains how deindustrialization coupled with the UK government's policy of economic austerity has left councils in formerly industrial northern English cities such as Manchester and Newcastle in desperate need of investment from alternative sources. When investment from the private sector also dried up, says the report, they looked abroad and found it, at least partly, in sovereign wealth.

The report also details how local media in Manchester and Newcastle have been unwilling or, decimated by the collapse of print circulations and reliant on online advertising revenue, simply unable to adequately hold clubs, investors, owners and politicians to account.

"It's normal for politicians and officials to welcome investment in their cities and to want to respond to their communities' understandable desire for footballing success," said Nick McGeehan, co-director of FairSquare and co-author of the report, in a statement.

"But to date, civic leaders in both Manchester and Newcastle have been willfully blind to the risks of allowing these states to establish centers of political power and influence in their cities, to the extent that they have effectively aided their efforts."

Cities and regions and desperate for investment

The cities of Manchester and Newcastle were engine rooms of Britain's industrial revolution in the 19th century, the former built on cotton and textile manufacturing, the latter on coal and shipbuilding.

However, by the 21st century, as the report details, those industries had been decimated. Despite having received increased foreign investment, Manchester and Newcastle had some of the highest rates of unemployment, homelessness and child poverty in the country.

Crucially, both cities also had popular, traditional but underperforming football clubs in Manchester City and Newcastle United.

Furthermore, fans saw the promise of cash injections as a path to sporting success, while the cash-strapped councils saw a valuable source of investment.

And, as the FairSquare report details, drawing on existing reporting, they actively lobbied for it, turning a blind eye to all else.

How politicians actively lobbied for takeovers

An initial attempt by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia to take over Newcastle United, also known as the Magpies, in 2020 was blocked by the Premier League.

The decision was taken not due to the PIF's inherent links to the Saudi government or well-documented human rights abuses in the country, but due to ongoing Saudi-sponsored piracy of Qatari broadcaster BeIN Sports' official Premier League coverage — part of a broader regional dispute which culminated in the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar.

At the time of the first attempted takeover, the Premier League came under pressure not only from the PIF-led consortium, led by public face Amanda Staveley, but also, the report says, "from politicians in the north-east of England and, it later transpired, the British government."

Fans wrote letters to their local members of parliament, MPs asked questions of ministers and launched petitions, and the then Chief Executive of Newcastle Council, Pat Richie, offered to meet the Premier League to work on a "compromise" to get the deal approved on the basis that it would be "transformational" for the region.

The lobbying went right to the top, with the Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST) receiving an email from then Prime Minister Boris Johnson in August 2020 saying: "There must be clarity on why there was a significant delay in a decision being made, and on the reasons why the consortium decided to withdraw their bid."

The reason for Johnson's involvement became clear a year later when the Daily Mail revealed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had directly lobbied the British government over the deal in June 2020, saying:

"We expect the Premier League to reconsider … The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has opened its doors for the UK's investments in various sectors and initiated a mutually beneficial investment program with large amounts of funding. The [Premier League]'s wrong conclusion will unfortunately have a negative impact on both our countries economic and commercial relations."

Further reporting by The Athletic in April 2023 revealed an email from the UK's deputy ambassador to Saudi Arabia noting that: "The purchase of Newcastle United by [Saudi Arabia's] sovereign wealth fund would be a valuable boost to the relationship and signal of intent for further Saudi investment in the north east [of England]."

Newcastle City Council did not respond to a request for comment.

Manchester: how good has Abu Dhabi really been for the city?

Back in September 2008, when Manchester City were bought by what The Financial Times called "a group of Abu Dhabi investors," the takeover generated much less controversy.

The term "sportswashing" hadn't even been coined and even the club's new chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, speaking to The Guardian in 2009, suggested that the idea of "showing the world what Abu Dhabi is about" was "something new, something we didn't really plan for." That soon changed.

As recounted in the FairSquare report, subsequent investigations by The Sunday Times and The University of Sheffield revealed how, following encouragement from the British government to attract UAE investment, Manchester City Council allegedly sold off land to Abu Dhabi under value and without a proper tendering process.

The reports also showed how homes in the regenerated areas of east Manchester are unaffordable and how the Council is receiving no rental income, the money being sucked out of the city — all while Manchester battles with an acute homelessness crisis.

A Manchester City Council spokesperson denied this was the case, telling DW that "council-owned land was sold at best value" and emphasizing "the positive impact that the resulting investment in Manchester has had for our communities — and the ongoing benefits to the city."

The Council also said the FairSquare report only offered a "one-sided perspective" and insisted that the Abu Dhabi United Group which owns Manchester City is "a private entity not synonymous with the Abu Dhabi state."

Qatar: Are Manchester United next?

Report co-author and FairSquare co-director Nick McGeehan also doesn't deny that "investment has brought some benefits to Manchester and will bring some benefits to Newcastle, not least in terms of sporting success and the critical effect that has on important intangibles like hope and pride."

But he emphasized that, "in an era when sport is increasingly coming under the control and influence of authoritarian regimes and in the context of the cultural, financial and emotional power of club football, it is imperative that we scrutinize these ownership models. Football clubs should not become political tools for autocrats and authoritarians."

This scrutiny of English football, the FairSquare report concludes, has not been carried out either by the UK government, local politicians or by properly-resourced local media outlets, warning that states such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia will continue to exploit this state of affairs.

With Qatar having tabled a bid to take over Manchester United, there could yet be a third Gulf player involved, and McGeehan has already seen similarities.

"There are definite parallels when it comes to the Qatari bid for United, where we've also seen the UK government briefing on how they would welcome Qatari investment," he told DW from the report launch event in Manchester.

"It's completely consistent with the Newcastle takeover, with a complete silence from the city's political class, from MPs and councilors. In the case of Manchester, it's particularly problematic because you could potentially have two Gulf states, who are still essentially feuding, using the city as a proxy battleground for their own personal rivalries."

Edited by: Rebecca Staudenmaier