Multi-club ownership concerns Uefa

Uefa has published its in depth annual report on the European football landscape: https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/027e-174740f39cc6-d205dd2e86bf-1000/ecfl_bm_report_2022_high_resolution_.pdf

It notes, 'A combination of macroeconomic factors and global investment trends has led to a sharp increase in multi-club investment and ownership in the last few years. At the end of 2022, the UEFA Intelligence Centre identified more than 180 clubs worldwide that were part of a multi-club investment structure, compared with less than 100 clubs four years ago and less than 40 in 2012.

After a slight weakening of growth in 2020 on account of the pandemic, multi-club investment has increased strongly further in the last couple of years, making it one of the most notable trends in football investment

The rise of multi-club investment has the potential to pose a material threat to the integrity of European club competitions, with a growing risk of seeing two clubs with the same owner or investor facing each other on the pitch.

This trend is being fuelled predominantly by US-based investors, with 27 multi-club investment groups (a third of the total number) originating in the United States. The pace at which US investors have taken over clubs using multi-club structures has accelerated strongly in the last two years, increasing from less than five investments per year before 2019 to more than 15 in 2021 and 2022.

This surge in private capital investment can be seen in the growing number of investment funds involved in football transactions. This has the potential to accelerate further in the coming months, with many investors racing to invest in clubs that are perceived to be undervalued assets with strong and steady growth prospects. These groups and funds are likely to invest in multiple teams across several different leagues.

The growth in multi-club investment has the potential to distort transfer activity, with an increasing percentage of transfers being executed within multi-club investment groups at prices that suit investors, rather than at fair values, to the detriment of trainer clubs (which receive less compensation in the form of solidarity payments).

Transfers within multi-club structures consist mostly of loans and ‘free transfers’, so they represent a very small share of the overall transfer market by value. With the growth of cross-investment structures, some football investors may now exert control over clubs spanning a cumulative total of a few hundred registered players. The UEFA Intelligence Centre estimates that more than 6,500 players worldwide are registered with clubs belonging to a cross-investment structure.'

US businessman John Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings acquired French team Olympique Lyonnais in December for €800mn but also owns Brazil’s Botafogo, Belgian tier-two side Molenbeek and a 40 per cent stake in English Premier League team Crystal Palace. Miami-based 777 Partners, meanwhile, owns Genoa, Standard Liège, Red Star FC in Paris and the Rio club Vasco da Gama, as well as minority stakes in teams including Spain’s Sevilla.

It's no deal say Spurs insiders over Taiwanese takeover

Senior figures at Tottenham Hotspur insisted on Friday that they had not been informed of any deal to sell Daniel Levy’s stake in the club. A business group, Eight Sports Capital — which is said to include a billionaire Taiwanese financier — claimed that it had an agreement in place to buy a 24.99 per cent stake in ENIC, the club’s majority owners, from Levy, who owns 29.88 per cent. The Times has been told Ng Wing Fai and Brooklyn Earick form part of the group, having both been linked previously to potential takeovers of the Premier League club. The Taiwanese businessman, Richard Tsai, is also said to be part of the consortium. He is reportedly worth £7 billion. Last year Earick, the former DJ and tech entrepreneur, was part of an attempted £4.5 billion takeover, which was “unequivocally rejected” by Spurs. An ENIC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that neither ENIC nor THFC are aware of any sale by Daniel Levy’s Family Trust of its minority stake in ENIC, THFC’...

Reports about Charlton sale exaggerated

Reports have appeared in The Guardian and elsewhere that Charlton has been put up for sale. Richard Cawley is an authoritative local journalist who runs a South London Sport substack site. He reached out to the club yesterday evening to ask for comment on The Guardian’s article. Early indications from the club have been that nothing has changed since the story about them seeking investment, except that it is now a different company doing it. Charlton have since managed to consolidate their place in the Championship, avoiding an instant return to League One, with their women’s side promoted to the WSL, returning to the top flight for the first time since 2007, although staying there is likely to be costly. It would be counter-intuitive for owners Global Football Partners not to progress the club when looking for investment, that the focus remains on driving it forward, that their spend this summer is in line with long-term planning and will see an increase in wages spent on players...

Hull City's 'strange' loan

When football finance guru Kieran Maguire seems flashing lights in a club's loan deal, I become concerned. He is the leading football finance expert in the UK. Hull City have borrowed £55m against their stadium and training ground yet they should get £30m from the Premier League before long. What is going on? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cpwel48y51do

The Political Economy of Football V2

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