Report: Tottenham asked to drop AIA shirt sponsor by British politicians

Tottenham Hotspur have been urged by British politicians to drop their main shirt sponsor AIA amid human rights concerns in Hong Kong.

The North London club have been sponsored by the Chinese life insurance company since 2014. Chairman Daniel Levy signed a lucrative eight-year contract extension with the company in 2019 (TottenhamHotspur.com), worth a reported £320 million.

The AIA group has publicly declared its support for Hong Kong’s national security law which was introduced in June 2020. The law was created with a view to ensuring stability amid widespread pro-democracy protests in 2019, but has since come under scrutiny.

Many claim the national security law has instead been used as a means to suppress freedom of expression, assembly, and dissent. The Times report that Britain’s parliamentary group described the law as ‘as a stick to beat those associated with the Hong Kong protest movement.’

Almost immediately after the inception of the law in 2020, the AIA group voiced its support. The law has seen the closure of civil society groups, trade unions, and independent media.

It has also led to the arrest of more than 200 activists, journalists, and former politicians, according to All-Party Parliamentary Group of Hong Kong.

British politicians have now sent a letter addressed to Daniel Levy urging him to end Tottenham’s association with AIG and have accused the club of “collaborating with supporters of human rights abuses in Hong Kong.”

Levy has been asked to sever all ties, with a view to showing “the Chinese Communist Party and its supporters that it cannot commit such violations without consequence.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Far from your normal football story this one, and the kind of news that will come as a shock to many who follow the club. With the severity of the claims against both AIG and the national security law in Hong Kong, it is hoped that Daniel Levy acts accordingly and does what is right here.

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