24 Daily News
After years of promises from successive governments and parliamentary ping-pong, the United Kingdom parliament has finally delivered a game-changing reform to how football is governed in England and Wales.
On July 21, the Football Governance Act passed into law, establishing an independent regulator for football, with powers to tackle financial instability, safeguard cultural heritage, and weed out rogue owners, including those responsible for human rights abuses.
The Independent Football Regulator comes as the Premier League is proving to be an increasingly popular playground for authoritarian governments looking to “sportswash” their image. Saudi Arabia’s acquisition of Newcastle United, United Arab Emirates’ ownership of Manchester City, and Qatar’s pursuit of an English club reflect this trend.
In 2020, Human Rights Watch urged the Premier League to consider Saudi Arabia’s rights record when evaluating the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s bid to purchase Newcastle United. The deal, approved the following year, was later revealed to have been based on assurances that the Saudi state would not control the club. Human Rights Watch has found that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman exercises unchecked, personalized control over the nearly trillion-dollar Fund.
As the bill passed through parliament, we called for robust due diligence measures for club owners, including disqualifying individuals and entities implicated in rights abuses from securing stakes in clubs. The new Regulator will impose a strengthened Owners’ and Directors’ Test mirroring some of these demands, with stricter checks on owners.
The test looks at whether a prospective owner has been convicted of or is facing criminal proceedings, in England or Wales or abroad. Furthermore, it considers whether an individual has engaged in conduct abroad that would constitute a “serious offence” under UK Law, such as terrorism, money laundering, and human trafficking. The test also empowers the Regulator to assess and rule on information around current owners’ suitability.
The test’s new suitability criteria would fail individuals found to have committed or facilitated serious rights abuses, such as, for instance, the brutal murder of a journalist, jailing of human rights defenders, or a litany of abuses against migrant workers.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised a “fairer future” for English football. This law marks a significant step in that direction, while setting a strong precedent for stamping out “sportswashing” internationally. But whether the UK will consistently uphold the integrity of the law, especially when its foreign policy objectives are at stake, will be the true test.
