S1E4: Football ownership: Should you care? - Hard Tackle

Jun 27, 2023

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Are football's super-rich owners killing the game? We discuss if fans should care.

Synopsis: Every fourth Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times dives into a sports topic and tackles the hard questions with its guests on Hard Tackle.

Manchester United fans around the world are mostly ecstatic that the Glazers may finally sell the club. The American family’s ownership of the club has been marred by fan protests, huge debts and poor performance on the pitch.

While Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani and British entrepreneur Sir Jim Ratcliffe remain as frontrunners in the takeover race, fans of the Red Devils have been caught up in a moral conundrum. It is a similar situation that Manchester City and Newcastle United fans have previously found themselves in.

In this episode, ST sports reporter Deepanraj Ganesan hosts Deloitte Asia-Pacific's sport business group leader James Walton and assistant ST Now editor Sazali Abdul Aziz.

Listen to a passionate debate on why fans should care and why football ownership is in the spotlight.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:15 Why are football clubs attractive to businessmen and investors ?

10:00 Are Manchester United fans justified in wanting new owners?

15:30 How Sazali - as a Newcastle United fan - feel about new owners from the Middle East?

23:40 Should a fan care about something he has no control over, such as who owns his or her club?

33:40 Football is past the point of no return, when it comes to foreign football ownership and the lack of checks and balances