FairSquare

Reform UK's funding has made headlines this year. But its ties to the UAE have largely flown under the radar. Our new report maps how an oil-rich Gulf state with no elections has built links to Farage et al, and into the wider UK far right, including Tommy Robinson. fairsq.org/petropopulis...

Lana Nusseibeh is a candidate for UN General Secretary. Here she is on an email chain where the UAE is trying to figure out how to escape accountability for violating a UN arms embargo in Libya.

As the Premier League deliberates on Manchester City's punishment, the UK’s close relations with the UAE poses a dilemma for Andy Burnham – especially due to the close relationship the UAE is forging with Nigel Farage’s Reform Party. arabdigest.org/sample-newsl...

🚨🚨🚨 @cweatherspoon.bsky.social's deep dive into FIFA's development model is the most significant piece of research on FIFA in a very long time. FIFA redistributed $4.6billion in the last decade, this work proves a systematic lack of oversight in how it is spent. www.nytimes.com/athletic/767...

FIFA's statutes say the president's pay "shall be made public." In 2024, the company FIFA set up to run the World Cup paid Gianni Infantino $1.76m. It isn't in FIFA's annual report. These continued instances of rule-breaking show that Infantino is not fit to run world football. #football #soccer

In 2013 Manchester City's UAE owners helped decide how a UK council handled a Freedom of Information request. When our director @ncgeehan.bsky.social asked for details of the Etihad Campus deal they flagged his background to the Council. This is why States shouldn't be allowed to own football clubs.

"Aleksander Čeferin's announcement that he will stand for a fourth term as UEFA President shows again that he is cut from the same cloth as Gianni Infantino, and is further evidence that the crisis in football governance extends far beyond FIFA." rebootfifa.com

"Infantino operates like a typical 21st-century autocrat: growing rich from what should be a position of public service, winning serial elections unopposed and ruling almost solo." @simonkuper.bsky.social on FIFA's patronage system and the man running it www.ft.com/content/8c0e...

The circumvention or extension of presidential term limits "enables power-hungry presidents to undermine institutions, appoint loyalists and relatives, and enrich themselves and their allies": @freedomhouse.bsky.social Aleksander Čeferin and Gianni Infantino would make it onto their list of shame

One of the many reasons you should consider supporting our rebootfifa.com campaign is we have outstanding legal advisors, including @antoineduval.bsky.social, the subject of this profile in FAZ and one of many scholars who believes the EU can exert real influence on FIFA. www.faz.net/aktuell/spor...

"Infantino's hubris is a unique chance to rethink FIFA and take it back from the football oligarchs who are running it without accountability." @antoineduval.bsky.social in @faznet.bsky.social on the opportunity that exists to fix FIFA and how the EU can act. www.faz.net/aktuell/spor...

The coda to this is a senior Man City exec proving they have always had total contempt for anyone seeking to question their activities. bsky.app/profile/ncge...

"I want to disrupt momentum" Manchester City's response to my FOI to Manchester City Council was reported in Der Spiegel's "football leaks". Not only did the council flag my background to the club, the club dictated terms on the release of the information. www.spiegel.de/internationa...

"Suggest you google this guy" Manchester City Council responded to my 2013 Freedom of Information request for details of their deal with Manchester City by flagging my background to City's chief communications officer. Deeply inappropriate (and that's being generous).

The Norwegian Football Federation has submitted two parallel filings to FIFA concerning the FIFA Peace Prize, the Balogun affair, and the FIFA Forward Enterprise (“FFE”) project. One addresses conduct of Gianni Infantino, the other governance and process. 👏👏👏 www.fotball.no/tema/nff-nyh...

"Manchester City is run by, and in the interests of, the United Arab Emirates, a state whose appetite for conflict and violence is matched by its contempt for rules and norms." New op-ed for @josimarfootball.bsky.social by @ncgeehan.bsky.social of reboot.fifa and @fairsqprojects.bsky.social.

Always a great pleasure to write for @josimarfootball.bsky.social this one on the Manchester City scandal and some critical points that have perhaps been missed or glossed over as 'human rights concerns' in the coverage to date. josimarfootball.com/2026/10/05/m...

And later join us at THE BRIDGE HOTEL at 7pm to hear leading Saudi human rights defender @maryamaldossari.bsky.social and other speakers, including from @newcastleaiuk.bsky.social and @nosauditoon.bsky.social All welcome!

This is starkest example of the war crime of “wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity“ in the 80 years since it was first codified and prosecuted at Nuremberg. A grave, continuing and tolerated breach of the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

Burnham’s response to the Manchester City story may have been iffy, but wait until Farage gets asked about it - his party is in bed with the UAE… and he knows nothing about football

The moment of accountability has arrived at #ManCity doorstep. Important report from @fairsqprojects.bsky.social why it matters! @ciluna27.bsky.social

“He’s quiet...and he’s always everywhere.” If you were worried about the UAE owning a football club, be extremely worried about the role they're playing in AI, spearheaded by the shadowy Sheikh Tahnoon Al-Nahyan. Brilliant and timely long read from Jack Shenker. www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

Has UEFA lied to the Football Association of Ireland about its anti-racism rules and protocols? If so, it should be a big problem for UEFA and the Israel Football Association. But only if the FAI takes this seriously and puts this latest incident in context. A 🧵 www.rte.ie/sport/soccer...

"A Reform London will remember you." That's what Nigel Farage told UAE officials at a private GB News party in Dubai in January. Our new report, 'Petropopulism', sets out the UAE's connections to Reform UK and the wider far right. Read the full report: fairsq.org/petropopulis... #politics #media

There should be space in the discussion of Manchester City's breach of Premiership rules for an examination of the UAE government's open contempt for rules and the dire and bloody consequences of their rule-breaking outside the realm of sport. A 🧵...

The Manchester City case has to be the moment we revisit the issue of state ownership of football clubs, and demand they be banned and phased out. In 2023 @fairsqprojects.bsky.social wrote to the then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport making this argument. fairsq.org/fairsquare-c...

Fergal Keane: 'For Bazunu to refuse to play is a sacrifice that required immense moral courage. Ultimately, he was the lone voice who said no, and that will be remembered in the broken alleys of Gaza.'

The Premier League has joined forces with La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga to call for urgent governance reform at Fifa after the World Cup sell-off debacle (FFE) as Gianni Infantino prepares to seek a fourth term as President. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

In Dublin Wednesday evening to discuss the Ireland - Israel match and broader issues of football misgovernance. Harry Browne, @rebeccaokeefe.bsky.social and @seanmacr.bsky.social will be among those there. Do come along if you're around.

Two question for FIFA (and UEFA) - Will you commit to separation of commercial and regulatory powers? - Will you commit to a needs-based independently audited redistribution model? (Answer: no, they won't because this isn't about reform, it's about power.) www.bbc.com/sport/footba...

On FIFA and an independent review of governance after the Kushner debacle. When FIFA had oversight by world class governance experts in 2017 they all resigned in protest at Infantino ousting their colleague, Miguel Maduro, who had acted independently.

“I should have died first and then come apply for asylum” Bogumila Hall and Marina de Regt on how the Netherlands' asylum procedures further traumatise Yemenis fleeing conflict standplaatswereld.nl/yemen-is-not...

Ceferin and Montagliani just outed themselves: - They're not interested in reform. - Their plan is to make a rotten system even worse. - No different from Infantino www.theguardian.com/football/202...

The World Cup and its aftermath made clear that Fifa needs independent oversight by governments and NGOs dedicated to preserving the people’s game. A fantastic piece by our Reboot advisor @julesboykoff.bsky.social for @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Football belongs to all of us. It deserves better custodians. Top #football writer @davidgoldblatt.bsky.social joined our Director @ncgeehan.bsky.social to discuss why he joined Reboot FIFA, and why none of us can fix this alone. Watch the full conversation here: youtu.be/a6Vv0eHHLeM

In my latest for @theguardian.com I mentioned @fairsq.bsky.social, the nonprofit human-rights org on whose advisory board I serve & our “Reboot FIFA” campaign, which you can learn all about (& even join, if you wish) here: rebootfifa.com www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Excellent work by @fairsq.bsky.social for submitting this complaint to FIFA More than 100,000 people add names to complaint against Gianni Infantino | Fifa | The Guardian share.google/IzP3JpdrjsfA...

@fairsq.bsky.social raise serious concerns about the systematic mistreatment and abuse of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. Important issue for trade unionists to take up on Tyneside as #NUFC Chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan is also Chairman of the board at ARAMCO. fairsq.org/blood-sweat-...