S1E4: Football ownership: Should you care? - Hard Tackle

Are football's super-rich owners killing the game? We discuss if fans should care. Synopsis: Every fourth Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times dives into a sports topic and tackles the hard questions with its guests on Hard Tackle. Manchester United fans around the world are mostly ecstatic that the Glazers may finally sell the club. The American family’s ownership of the club has been marred by fan protests, huge debts and poor performance on the pitch. While Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani and British entrepreneur Sir Jim Ratcliffe remain as frontrunners in the takeover race, fans of the Red Devils have been caught up in a moral conundrum. It is a similar situation that Manchester City and Newcastle United fans have previously found themselves in.  In this episode, ST sports reporter Deepanraj Ganesan hosts Deloitte Asia-Pacific's sport business group leader James Walton and assistant ST Now editor Sazali Abdul Aziz. Listen to a passionate debate on why fans should care and why football ownership is in the spotlight. Highlights (click/tap above): 1:15 Why are football clubs attractive to businessmen and investors ?  10:00 Are Manchester United fans justified in wanting new owners? 15:30 How Sazali - as a Newcastle United fan - feel about new owners from the Middle East? 23:40 Should a fan care about something he has no control over, such as who owns his or her club? 33:40 Football is past the point of no return, when it comes to foreign football ownership and the lack of checks and balances Read more: https://str.sg/iUPv Produced by: Deepanraj Ganesan ([email protected]), Ernest Luis, Paxton Pang & Eden Soh Edited by: Eden Soh Follow ST Sports Talk Podcast episodes every second and fourth Wednesday of the month: Channel: https://str.sg/JWRE Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWRa Spotify: https://str.sg/JW6N Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/JX88 SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: [email protected] Follow Deepanraj Ganesan on Twitter: https://str.sg/wtra Read his articles: https://str.sg/Jbxq --- Discover more ST podcast channels: In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL --- Special edition series: True Crimes Of Asia (new): https://str.sg/i44T The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2 Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa --- Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #sportstalkSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.