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The Ted Lasso dream can be just that

The Winkelvoss brothers, 43, have completed a $4.5 million investment in Real Bedford Football Club, believing they have an unearthed the “ultimate underdog story”. The club attracts an average of only 300 spectators per game, and the brothers hope their investment can help it climb from the eighth tier to the Premier League.

I must say I am more sceptical.   It's a long haul and other moneybag or benefactor clubs have failed to make it.  Remember Rushden and Diamonds?   Even AFC Fylde have failed to break into the EFL.

Even so, it is the latest “must have” accessory for business tycoons or the wealthy stars of film, music and sport: a grassroots British football club that they can dream of turning into a professional outfit.

The Winklevoss twins, crypto billionaires, are the latest to join the ranks of lower-league owners, after taking over eighth-tier Real Bedford.

They are following in the footsteps of the Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who bought Wrexham in 2020 and have seen the Welsh club rise from being a non-league side to a team with hopes of making the Championship.

Pop stars have also joined the craze. Last year Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy of Boyzone joined up with Brian McFadden of Westlife to buy semi-professional club Chorley FC in Lancashire, and have spoken about following Wrexham’s example.

The trend has caught on because semi-professional clubs can be bought for very little outlay, and allow the new owners to dream of taking them to the big time, emulating the hit US television show Ted Lasso which covers an American football coach taking the fictional English club AFC Richmond to success in the Premier League.

Other celebrity owners include the British rap star Stormzy, who is part of a trio that has invested in non-league AFC Croydon Athletic — the group also includes the former Crystal Palace and Manchester United star Wilfried Zaha — while the Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwall has invested in South Shields FC and has been named as the club’s honorary president.

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