Football Clubs Money Laundering Risk Report
Football’s Shadow: Agents and Clubs Named as Emerging Money Laundering Risks
Football clubs and their agents have been identified as notable emerging risks for money laundering and terrorist financing, according to a stark new annual government report. The sport’s “hidden nature” creates an “intelligence gap” making it difficult to accurately estimate the true scale of criminality within the game.
The “National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist financing 2025” report highlights a range of vulnerabilities within football, including diverse ownership models, vast financial inequalities between clubs, and the precarious financial situations of many lower-league teams. Thes factors, combined with the potential for illicit funds to be laundered through various channels such as player transfers and the falsification of services, paint a concerning picture.
For the first time, the report explicitly states that football is not only susceptible to money laundering but also to other crimes like illegal betting, match-fixing, and bribery, serving as a lucrative avenue for criminals to “invest illicit funds.”
A key concern raised is the prevalence of complex offshore corporate structures involving overseas-based enablers and financial products, often operating in jurisdictions with limited regulatory oversight. The report warns that layered front and shell companies, frequently based overseas or in low-transparency jurisdictions, can effectively obscure the true beneficiaries of clubs and sponsorship deals.
The report specifically flags the “financial distress” of lower-league clubs as a particular risk, especially when they struggle to secure conventional loans. The normalization of debt within football finances is cited as another vulnerability that could be exploited, particularly if due diligence on investors is weak. This issue comes to the fore amid ongoing disputes between the Premier League and the EFL regarding financial redistribution, with the prospect of an independent football regulator perhaps intervening.
“Clubs could be used as a vehicle both to launder funds, and also a final destination for criminal money to be invested,” the report states. “player values in particular are difficult to objectively determine wich increases the risk of manipulation for money laundering.”
The wider financial ecosystem surrounding football, with a particular focus on agents, is also under scrutiny. The report notes that professional service providers such as accountants, lawyers, trust or company service providers, and wealth managers are integral to football transactions and thus exposed to the risk of facilitating money laundering.the report points out that when these services are employed in-house by clubs, it can create conflicts of interest in detecting and reporting suspicious financial activity.
Crucially,the report highlights that many agents and “fixers” operate without regulatory supervision,as they are employed directly rather then operating “by way of business.” This lack of oversight considerably amplifies the opportunities and risks for money laundering. Fees paid to agents, intermediaries, and others involved in transactions are identified as a convenient route for laundering money or paying bribes. This risk is further compounded when agents represent both the player and the club in a single transaction. The report urges lawyers, accountants, financial service firms, and others involved in processing these fees and payments to exercise due diligence to ensure their legitimacy.