{"id":30048,"date":"2026-01-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csw-yeo.1wp.site\/press\/csw-launches-campaign-calling-on-manchester-city-owner-to-end-uae-6706\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T19:15:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T18:15:30","slug":"csw-launches-campaign-calling-on-manchester-city-owner-to-end-uae-6706","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/press\/csw-launches-campaign-calling-on-manchester-city-owner-to-end-uae-6706\/","title":{"rendered":"CSW launches campaign calling on Manchester City owner to end UAE involvement in conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CSW has launched a campaign<\/a> 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)\u2019s role in the conflict in Sudan.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign, launched today outside Manchester City\u2019s Etihad Stadium, invites people to sign a petition<\/a> addressed to the chief executive, board and member clubs of the Premier League asking them to raise the issue of the UAE\u2019s support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with Sheikh Mansour, holding him to account for his country\u2019s role in prolonging and profiting from a conflict which has killed over 150,000 people<\/a>, displaced 13 million<\/a>, and rendered 30 million<\/a> in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2024 the United Nations (UN) Panel of Experts on the Sudan concluded<\/a> that allegations that the UAE is providing support<\/a> to the RSF through Am Djarass airport in Chad, where it claims to be running a humanitarian effort, are \u2018credible\u2019. Prominent human rights organisations<\/a> and news outlets<\/a> 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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheikh Mansour himself \u2013 who is also vice-president and deputy prime minister of the UAE \u2013 has well-documented ties with the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan \u2018Hemedti\u2019 Dagalo. He has been described<\/a> as Hemedti\u2019s closest ally in the Emirates, and US intelligence officers claim<\/a> to have intercepted regular phone calls between the two men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at the launch, CSW\u2019s Sudan Specialist Mohaned Elnour said: \u2018Sheikh 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\u2019s support for the RSF. This isn\u2019t about the clubs, players or fans, but we are asking all of them to use their voices to make these demands of Sheikh Mansour.<\/i><\/b>\u2019<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CSW\u2019s CEO Scot Bower added: \u2018We 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\u2019re raised together.\u2019<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notes to Editors:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n
  1. Click here to sign the petition<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n
  2. Additional photos from the launch are available on request.<\/li>\n\n\n
  3. In March 2023 Premier League clubs unanimously approved<\/a> changes to the League\u2019s Owners\u2019 and Directors\u2019 Test (OADT) to add a range of new Disqualifying Events to the test, including one for \u2018human rights abuses\u2019. This Disqualifying Event does not appear in the OADT outlined in Premier League Handbook 2025\/26<\/a>, but the Premier League is also subject to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights<\/a>, which state that business enterprises should seek \u2018to 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.\u2019<\/li>\n\n<\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    CSW has launched a campaign calling on the Premier League to hold Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour to account for the United Arab Emirates role in the conflict in Sudan.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":44184,"template":"","categories":[],"regions":[152,157],"class_list":["post-30048","press","type-press","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","regions-sub-saharan-africa","regions-sudan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/30048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/30048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40634,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/30048\/revisions\/40634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30048"},{"taxonomy":"regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions?post=30048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}