Fit and proper? Analyzing the potential for illicit activity through English Premier League club ownership structures

Motivated by recent concerns regarding links between football and illicit finance, this article analyses the ownership structures of English Premier League (EPL) football clubs from the 2023/24 season to better understand how they reflect conditions that have been identified in the illicit finance literature as enabling financial crimes and illicit financial flows. We identify widespread use of various legal entities and traditional ‘secrecy’ jurisdictions in the creation of club ownership structures which obscure verification of beneficial ownership. We argue these structures bring risk to these cultural institutions, and call for greater oversight of EPL club ownership by the new independent football regulator proposed by the UK Government. We identify structures which make use of a combination of enabling conditions as those which require closest scrutiny by regulators, both prior to and after takeovers by new owners.