Football empires: The rise of multi-club ownership | FT Scoreboard
Published June 5, 2023, 5:22 p.m. by Jerald Waisoki
Multi-club ownership is the hottest trend in global football. It allows owners to spread their costs and risks, discover and develop talent across a network of clubs, and offer sponsors worldwide opportunities with a single partner. But as the FT’s sports editor Josh Noble explains, not everyone’s a fan, and critics worry about loose regulation and potential conflicts of interest.
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[Music]
multi-club ownership is the hottest
Trend in global football the business
model where one investor owns a stake in
more than one team was pioneered more
than 15 years ago by Red Bull maker of
energy drinks and owner of Leipzig in
Germany and Salzburg in Austria since
then others have taken the idea to the
next level City football group the
parent company of Premier League
champions Manchester City now own stakes
in more than 10 clubs its portfolio
spans Europe the United States and
Australia
it also includes teams in Asia and South
America
there are now dozens of multi-club
groups U.S investor John texter recently
bought Olympic Leone in France joining
his Holdings in Premier League side
Crystal Palace Brazil's butterfogo and
mullenbeak in Belgium
the Qatari owners of Paris Saint-Germain
now own a stake in Portuguese team Essie
Braga and have their sights on further
additions this year
plenty of others are following suits so
what's the big idea some see multi-club
ownership as a way to hedge their bets
and spread their costs relegation is
still the biggest risk for investors so
buying more teams limits the negative
impacts of One Bad season it works the
other way too owning several clubs gives
you multiple shots at promotion Talent
scouting is part of the appeal owners
with a group of teams can find prospects
in different markets and develop them
around the network before sending them
to a linked team at a discount price or
selling them on for profit
multi-club groups can also offer
sponsors opportunities across the world
of football with a single partner
but not everyone is convinced that the
benefits outweigh the costs
some see it as a fad enabled by loose
regulation
there are currently few restrictions on
investing in multiple clubs across
different countries critics argue that
allowing investors to turn clubs into
feeder teams puts a lid on ambition and
hampers competition especially in
smaller leagues but despite those
reservations for now the rise of the
multi-club model looks Unstoppable
[Laughter]
![Football, finance et business models [Henri Philippe et Bruno Belgodère] image](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aUWHKe_YsbQ/default.jpg)
