The rise of celebrity investors into football

euronews (in English)

Over the past decade, celebrities have invested heavily into football, building a new attraction and audience towards the sport.

Transcript

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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