Podcasts Other File on 4 Teams and Regimes: Sportswashing in Football

Teams and Regimes: Sportswashing in Football

Published: May 14, 2024, 5 a.m.

Manchester City are dominating English football, with a trophy cabinet full of silverware. The club\u2019s success has been bankrolled by money from Abu Dhabi. Now Newcastle United have followed in their wake, with backing from a Saudi consortium transforming a sleeping giant of English football into perhaps the world\u2019s richest club. But with the money comes accusations that the clubs are being used to launder the reputations of repressive regimes accused of human rights abuses, and that the cash from the two oil rich states is being used to exert political influence locally and nationally in the UK.

Reporter: Adrian Goldberg\nProducer: Fergus Hewison\nTechnical Producer: Craig Boardman\nProduction coordinator: Tim Fernley\nEditor: Carl Johnston