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The rise of celebrity investors into football
euronews (in English)
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11/03/2024
Over the past decade, celebrities have invested heavily into football, building a new attraction and audience towards the sport.
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00:00
Buying football clubs around the globe is becoming more lucrative, even for some of
00:05
the world's most famous names.
00:08
So which celebrities are investing in the beautiful game and how are they influencing
00:12
the sport?
00:19
Hello there and welcome to Football Now from Doha.
00:23
Over the last 18 months we've seen a huge surge in celebrities stepping into the world
00:27
of football.
00:29
Hollywood actors, athletes and even musicians are putting their hard earned cash into the
00:34
world's biggest sport.
00:35
But who are they?
00:36
Let's take a look at some of the stars that have taken the plunge.
00:40
In 2020 Hollywood powerhouses Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took on the ownership of
00:45
UK side Wrexham.
00:47
Meanwhile Natalie Portman has led a group of A-list Hollywood actors as owners of Los
00:51
Angeles-based women's soccer team Angel City FC.
00:54
This summer UK rapper Stormzy and football sensation Wilfred Zaha joined forces to become
01:00
joint owners of AFC Croydon.
01:02
All of these celebrities have money in the game but how much are they actively involved?
01:07
Some may be passive investors while others take a stronger role in the day to day operations.
01:12
Many have even expanded their influence by venturing into multiple clubs, creating a
01:16
diverse football portfolio.
01:37
If you look at something like Liverpool when Fenway took over in April 2011 and LeBron
01:42
James just comes out and buys his announced 1% share, I think he's increased it to 2%
01:48
share.
01:49
Well, that was a really shrewd investment.
01:50
You can make a very cogent case for that being the most sensible investment of the lot.
01:54
So you don't get the hassle, you don't get the aggravation, you still get to go on the
01:56
pitch and show your scarf off, just as Michael Jordan did down at Bournemouth.
02:02
But you don't get the week to week headache and aggravation.
02:07
You also have to consider as well what's going on in these guys lives.
02:10
They might just want another challenge.
02:12
They might just want to do something different.
02:13
They might like the idea of going to putting a pin in the mat, finding the nearest football
02:17
club and going improving the lives of people.
02:19
If you're looking at improved facilities, improving grounds, making people happy, improving
02:24
training grounds, providing support to people in historically deprived areas, I can't really
02:30
see anything bad, anything negative as of now.
02:35
Now it may be a case of just making lucrative business deals for the celebs, but the clubs
02:40
themselves have also reaped the benefits.
02:43
Star investments have contributed to the globalisation of the sport by raising the brand awareness
02:48
of the so-called smaller clubs.
02:50
This was the case at Birmingham City and Burnley when former NFL stars Tom Brady and JJ Watt
02:56
got involved.
02:57
I think JJ Watt, I know he was approached by an intermediary saying, "If you're interested
03:02
in getting into the sport, this is a really good way for you to get in."
03:06
And he held meetings and liked what he saw.
03:08
It fitted with his brand because he's very much a working class hero type guy.
03:14
And I think a working class town like Burnley fit with his image quite well.
03:18
And he has actually, to be fair, people are a little bit cynical and sceptical about those
03:22
kind of things.
03:23
I've seen him on tons of shows in America, like in some very, very highly watched talk
03:29
shows and so on, where he comes on in a Burnley t-shirt or a Burnley baseball cap, it immediately
03:34
becomes a talking point.
03:35
And he's talking about Burnley on the Jimmy Fallon show or whatever.
03:39
He's making the case for Burnley and promoting the brand.
03:43
He is doing that.
03:44
So you can see the benefits of doing that.
03:47
Let's talk about a rising force.
03:50
Female celebrity investors and their impact on women in football.
03:53
In a traditionally male-dominated field, these women are reshaping the landscape, bringing
03:58
fresh perspectives and contributing to the sport's growth.
04:03
For example, the ownership structure of Angel City FC is reshaping the trajectory of women's
04:07
sports with a distinctive approach.
04:09
It boasts a diverse assembly of female celeb investors, who not only bring their star,
04:14
power and reputation, but also their individual audience to the team.
04:18
The model is elevating attention and awareness for women's football, leading to a surge in
04:23
investment.
04:24
Celebrity investors, exemplified by those involved with Angel City FC, are actively
04:29
championing women's sports by challenging male-censored industry norms.
04:34
You can definitely tell that they're not just the stars like Natalie Portman and Serena
04:39
Williams.
04:40
They're not just there for PR and purposes.
04:44
They're invested in this business and Angel City.
04:51
They are wanting to see equality in sports.
04:55
LA is such a sports-heavy city.
04:58
There's so much going on.
04:59
It's such a big city.
05:00
It's hard to stand out as a brand new sports franchise.
05:05
These owners and founders, they were tasked with the challenge of how do we stand out
05:09
in this extravagant city that has all these other things that people can put their attention
05:15
to.
05:16
Men-led sports club can be more traditional in the way that a sports franchise is run.
05:21
I've seen a lot of clubs in the past in the NWSL that are a lot more just power and money-driven.
05:27
So having the women's voices in the front office, I think, can provide that sense of
05:32
just being able to relate to what those women are going through and the supports that they
05:38
need.
05:39
So, in the exciting world of football, celebrities are not just fans of the sport, but now investors
05:45
too.
05:46
That's all we have time for this week.
05:47
Do let us know your thoughts using the hashtag #FootballNowCelebs and we'll see you next
05:51
time.
05:52
Bye for now.
05:52
[Music]
05:57
[BLANK_AUDIO]
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