From the ownership of Manchester City and Paris St. Germain to motor sport in the Middle East to the Beijing Olympics, questionable regimes are laundering their reputations by association with elite sport. Does “sportswashing” work, and what can fans do about it? Murad Ahmed, Sports Editor of the FT and host of their Business of Football Summit, gives Andrew Harrison the inside track on sport’s dirty secrets.

“No fan of a sports team thinks of themselves as a consumer of a global brand. But that’s exactly what marketing directors think.”
“The sports market has been completely distorted by ownership by Middle Eastern states.”
“The weaponising of fans to go after critics of your country is really worrying.”

Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Logo and branding by Mark Taylor. Music: Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters production

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Daily: Will the Gulf end up owning sport?