The growth of multi-club ownership

Multi club ownership (MCO) notionally offers a broad array of benefits: cost-savings, knowledge sharing, player development. To its opponents MCO is an assault on club heritage and traditions, poses huge questions about sporting heritage and even makes clubs “slaves” to bigger interests.

Research carried out by Play The Game last October found that 156 clubs from around the world are part of 60 MCO groups.

This has increased in the past 8 months. For example, 777 Partners – one of the most prominent MCO groups – have added Standard Liege and Vasco da Gama to its portfolio already this year, and have just this week bought a French club – of which more later.

Play The Game argued last Autumn that “the phenomenon raises new questions of governance for everyone from international football federations to clubs, players, and fans.” Its report came shortly after the Italian federation, the FIGC, clamped down on MCOs. This followed Salernitana’s promotion to Serie A last summer. The Salerno club was owned by Claudio Lotito, who also owns Lazio.

Lotito was forced to place his ownership of in a trust and ultimately to sell his stake under the threat of the club’s expulsion. The FIGC also banned MCOs and gave other existing owners until 2024/25 to sell their stakes.

In Denmark, where eight clubs are part of MCO operations, the Danish Football Union (DBU) launched a review into the trend last year and recently announced tighter rules on ownership, although they fell short of banning MCOs.

UEFA – which already bans matches between clubs in a MCO group – has so far resisted calls for
increased regulation on MCOs.

But would be and existing investors might find themselves faced with an even more potent and serious challenge: fans.

Fan rising

Across Europe, a rising backlash is facing MCOs. In the Netherlands, City Football Group (CFG) were last month forced to abandon a takeover of second tier club, NAC Breda. Also last month in France, protests at Paris FC’s prospective takeover by 777 Partners saw a match against FC Sete 34 abandoned.

Pacific Media Group (PMG) – Paul Conway’s vehicle, which as stakes in Barnsley, Esbjerg FB, AS Nancy, KV Oostende, Den Bosch, and FC Thun – has faced protests from across its group’s supporters.

Pacific disaster

PMG’s clubs have faced a particularly disastrous 2021/22 season, with clubs under its ownership going for an unwanted treble: Barnsley and AS Nancy have been relegated to their country’s third divisions and there is a strong chance Esbjerg will follow them. (FC Thun and Den Bosch are mid-table in Switzerland and Netherlands’ second tiers, Oostende came 12th in Belgium’s top tier).

Barnsley

At Barnsley, where Chien Lee and Paul Conway are co-chairmen, a spokesperson for the Conway Out! campaign group tells Off The Pitch that it has been “a record breaking terrible season.”

They say that concerns about being part of a multi group model were initially overlooked “due to our excitement that we were bought by a consortium with a net worth of £9 billion.”

Billy Beane, the legendary baseball executive of “Moneyball” fame is also a Barnsley shareholder. But the Conway Out group say that the Moneyball football decisions have been disastrous for the club. They allege that the style of play that got Barnsley to last year’s play offs was changed “because there wasn’t enough interest in our players due to our direct style.” They claim this was adopted so the owners “could sell our players for more profit.”

The benefits of being part of a MCO have been at best opaque. “The only real effect on us is that some of our younger players have been loaned out to Esbjerg and a few of our players who weren't good enough were transferred to Nancy and Oostende. But apart from that, there hasn't been any other effects yet.”

The spokesperson added: “I’d love to think that this is just an exception, and one bad season at Barnsley due to a few bad decisions due to the ownership group. Unfortunately, we aren't the only club in the ownership group that have been relegated this season, with Nancy officially relegated and Esbjerg on the brink of relegation.”