Kyckr data featured in University of Manchester report on football ownership

Kyckr’s global company data has been used in a major new report by the University of Manchester, which examined ownership transparency and financial crime risks in English football. 

The report, Staying Onside: English Football, Illicit Finance, and the Incoming AML Regime (Duncan & Lord, 2025), analyses the ownership structures of clubs across the Premier League, Championship, League 1 and League 2.  

It highlights the growing complexity of multi-jurisdictional ownership networks and the use of offshore entities, with many clubs showing partial or opaque beneficial-ownership disclosure. 

Researchers used Kyckr’s live registry data to validate and expand their mapping of football-club ownership networks, along with corroborating and updating missing data from ORBIS and other sources. Kyckr’s verified registry connections provided authoritative evidence of corporate linkages and beneficial-ownership gaps, forming a part of the study’s empirical foundation. 

The findings come as the UK introduces a new Independent Football Regulator and strengthens its AML framework for sport. Transparent ownership data is increasingly critical for governing bodies, sponsors, and financial institutions seeking to assess integrity risks. 

At Kyckr, we’re proud to support research that deepens understanding of global ownership networks and helps promote transparency in high-profile sectors like sport. 

Read the full report: University of Manchester – Staying Onside (2025)