In September 2026, Manchester City, the most successful English football club of the last decade, were reported to have been found guilty of 114 of 115 charges of breaking Premier League financial rules. The club denies any wrongdoing and has appealed. This lesson explains the case and gets students talking about money, rules and fair play in sport. This B2 version looks at the charges, the possible punishments and the wider questions about money in football.
Level: B2 · Time: 45 to 90 minutes. Pick the activities that suit your class. They work in almost any order.
Lesson Activities
- Warmer: What’s Happening Here? – Reveal the photo tile by tile. What is he holding? Why is he happy? (It’s Manchester City’s captain lifting the Premier League trophy in 2012, one of the titles now in question.)
- Prediction: True or False? – Students guess which 10 statements about the case are true, then check after reading.
- Vocabulary: Pre-teach the Key Words – Match 10 words and phrases from the article to their meanings before reading (dominant, charge with, accuse, deny, appeal, points deduction, relegated…).
- Reading: Guilty, Is This the End of Man City’s Golden Era? – A news article with 11 gaps. Choose without a word bank or with a word bank for extra support.
- Discussion: Money, Rules and Fair Play – 12 discussion questions on stripping titles, relegation, club ownership and whether money is ruining football.
- Speaking: Ranking – If City lose their appeal, what is the fairest punishment? Students rank nine options, from a fine to losing past titles, then compare with a partner.
Teacher Tips
- For a shorter lesson, use the warmer, the reading and the discussion cards.
- Language focus: look at the legal and reporting language in the article (charged with, accused of, deny, reports said, appeal). Point out that City have not accepted the verdict and the process is still going on.
- The case is still ongoing. Check the latest news before class, as the punishment or the appeal result may have been announced.
- Follow-up: students write a short news report or hold a class debate: “Should City lose their titles?”
Teaching a lower-level group? Try the A2 version of this lesson.