The UK Government has been seeking to develop the sub-region between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge as a British ‘Silicon Valley’. The United Arab Emirates has been courted as a source of investment, but ministers have been advised that this may no longer be possible given the Premier League’s proceedings against Manchester City.
When Khaldoon al-Mubarak, chief executive of Abu Dhabi’s investment fund, met with then Chancellor in 2023 he made it clear that it represented an attack on an important Abu Dhabi asset by an unregulated cartel. It was an affront to some of the emirate’s most esteemed companies. Hunt stressed that the Premier League was an independent body.
Manchester City formed the anchor investment for a broader Abu Dhabi-led regeneration project that helped transform east Manchester with new housing, office space and entertainment facilities.
For countries from the Gulf football had become an important projection of soft power. Once it has been acquired, Manchester City became a project integral to managing the carefully crafted Abu Dhabi brand. Analysts consider that sport will remain important to countries in the region despite the current conflict there. Three of the past four Champions League finals have been won by teams backed by Gulf money.
The initial reaction of the owners was that they would stay on at City, but fan reaction has been more mixed than anticipated. City has been great PR for them, but it is now something of a disaster.
One international executive at a Premier League club told the Financial Times in relation to the UK’s relationship with the UAE, ‘At the end of the day, you guys have to stay on the right side of Daddy.’
With a weakened economy, outside the EU and with an uncertain relationship with the US, there are certainly question marks about how far the UK can afford to offend countries in the Gulf. However, many argue would argue that sporting integrity cannot be sacrificed.
Matters of state are now muddied with the fate of a football club with implications for international relations and investment.