CSW has launched a campaign calling on the Premier League to hold Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to account for the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s role in the conflict in Sudan.

The campaign, launched today outside Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, invites people to sign a petition addressed to the chief executive, board and member clubs of the Premier League asking them to raise the issue of the UAE’s support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with Sheikh Mansour, holding him to account for his country’s role in prolonging and profiting from a conflict which has killed over 150,000 people, displaced 13 million, and rendered 30 million in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

While both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) with whom it is in conflict are supported by various international actors, there is credible evidence that the UAE continues to provide military and financial support to the RSF.

In January 2024 the United Nations (UN) Panel of Experts on the Sudan concluded that allegations that the UAE is providing support to the RSF through Am Djarass airport in Chad, where it claims to be running a humanitarian effort, are ‘credible’. Prominent human rights organisations and news outlets have also reported on RSF fighters using a range of sophisticated weaponry either manufactured in or re-exported by the UAE, while in July 2024 a leaked document sent to the UN Security Council containing photos of Emirati passports allegedly found in Sudan and linked to RSF soldiers highlighted that the UAE may have deployed personnel to assist in the fighting.

Sheikh Mansour himself – who is also vice-president and deputy prime minister of the UAE – has well-documented ties with the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo. He has been described as Hemedti’s closest ally in the Emirates, and US intelligence officers claim to have intercepted regular phone calls between the two men.

Speaking at the launch, CSW’s Sudan Specialist Mohaned Elnour said: ‘Sheikh Mansour is the owner of one of the most decorated teams in the most-watched sports league in the world. That is why we are here today: to call on him to use his influence to end the UAE’s support for the RSF. This isn’t about the clubs, players or fans, but we are asking all of them to use their voices to make these demands of Sheikh Mansour.’

CSW’s CEO Scot Bower added: ‘We want to make so much noise that the Premier League is compelled to act and uphold its commitments to human rights. We hope that this in turn will compel Sheikh Mansour to act and cut off resources to the RSF. We want to see Sudan move towards a ceasefire, followed by a transition to democracy and justice. These are big ambitions. But we know change is possible and we know that our voices are powerful, especially when they’re raised together.’

Notes to Editors:

1. Click here to sign the petition.
2. Additional photos from the launch are available on request.
3. In March 2023 Premier League clubs unanimously approved changes to the League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test (OADT) to add a range of new Disqualifying Events to the test, including one for ‘human rights abuses’. This Disqualifying Event does not appear in the OADT outlined in Premier League Handbook 2025/26, but the Premier League is also subject to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which state that business enterprises should seek ‘to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts.’