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Wrexham owners buy into Colombian club

A U.S. consortium fronted by real estate investor Al Tylis and Club Necaxa executive Sam Porter has completed a takeover of Colombian soccer team La Equidad — backed by investors including actors Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and Eva Longoria.

La Equidad is based in the Colombian capital of Bogota, where the club’s home stadium Estadio Metropolitano de Techo has a capacity of 10,000. The team finished 13th out of 20 teams in the top flight of the 2024 league phase of the season in Colombia. The club was founded in 1982 by an insurance company (also called La Equidad).

The consortium, which also includes MLB pitcher Justin Verlander and his model wife Kate Upton, has acquired over 99 per cent of the club at a valuation in excess of $30m, according to sources familiar with the deal who asked to remain anonymous when disclosing confidential information.

Talks over the acquisition had been ongoing during the second half of 2024, before completing on Wednesday.

It represents the latest foray into soccer for the Hollywood stars Reynolds and McElhenney after the pair acquired Wrexham AFC in 2021, when the team was playing in the fifth division of English football.  (Wrexham is, of course, in Wales).

Since then, Wrexham has been promoted twice and is on track to challenge for promotion to the Championship this season, although last night they went down away to local rivals Shrewsbury Town.

The pair have fused their stardom, the rise of streaming and media acumen to grow global interest and support in Wrexham, most notably through the award-winning docu-series Welcome to Wrexham, which has broadcast the Welsh club’s rise under their star-studded ownership, as well as pre-season tours to the United States.

 

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