The British government is to seek the swift introduction of a self-regulatory regime in football to ensure that only ”fit and proper persons” are able to take control of English clubs.
Concerns have been raised about the probity and business background of Roman Abramovich, the Russian oil magnate who took control of Chelsea this week, but the Football Association, the Premier League and the Football League currently have no powers to prevent anyone from buying a club.
According to the British Department of Media, Culture and Sport, British Secretary of State Tessa Jowell hoped football would introduce a ”fit and proper persons” test in the near future.
At only 36 years old, Abramovich is listed by Forbes magazine as the second-richest man in Russia and the world’s 49th wealthiest person, with a fortune of £1,8-billion. His meteoric rise is all the more remarkable given his difficult start in life.
Orphaned at the age of four, he was adopted by his father’s brother and then lived with his maternal grandparents.
Abramovich attended the Industrial Institute in the city of Ukhta, in the northern region of Komi, before being drafted into the Soviet army.
His interest in oil began early as he concentrated his business activities on trading oil products out of Russia’s largest refinery in western Siberia.
Abramovich’s big break came in 1992 when Boris Berezovsky — then the most powerful of Russia’s tycoons — befriended him and brought him into the inner circle of former president Boris Yeltsin.
Nine years later, when Berezovsky fell out of favour with the new Vladimir Putin regime and went into exile to Britain following fraud charges, the pupil took over from the master. Abramovich began building his financial empire. Recently he branched out into politics.
Abramovich already had a British connection before his surprise move for Chelsea. His multibillion-dollar assets are controlled through Millhouse Capital, a British-registered investment fund.
This will not be his first move into sport, as he already owns a hockey team. — Guardian Newspapers 2003