Football Urges Careful Owner Adoption

Clubs should be encouraged to answer three questions before adding a foreign (or domestic) owner to their household to make sure they are ready for the commitment.

While it is exciting to bring a financially prosperous godfather to take the club to new heights, certain clubs, out of some sort of extreme anxiety, do not have the time or energy to focus on the due diligence required. Before making this big decision, there are some questions to ask when considering whether to add the owner to the family.

The most significant being the long term plans of the investor which he intends to commit to the club.

Several forces, mostly external, can greatly affect the obligations of the owner. Some require more personal attention than others, which need to be walked through on a regular basis.

Affordability is another factor. An investor could pour in money at the beginning of the realm and hence the enthusiasm carries on for a while. But at some point, the investor runs into an invisible wall – a wall made up of politics, financial pressure and pure passion, just like in the case of Russian club Anzhi Makachkala and its owner Suleyman Kerimov.

Finally, there is the need to confirm the investor’s intention when it comes to changing the clubs age old tradition. Which is where Dutch club FC Den Bosch messed up.

In a prank, recorded on video, the club officials discussed the potential investment from Dubai based “Al Massir Group” represented by the HH Rashid bin Abdulaziz al Massir (This person does not exist).

The topics that were discussed included, changing the name of the club to Dragons den Bosch; alteration of the colors; the club makes illicit payments for transfers; homosexual players would not be signed; alcohol would be banned at the stadium and finally, that separate entrances for men and women would be built.

What’s intriguing was that no issue was raised with the fake sheikh’s requests during the meeting.

Obviously, to save their embarrassment, the club came out with a statement saying that they knew it was a joke “all along”.

The above could potentially be harmful and sneering to genuine potential investors, despite the region they represent, however the need to have a strong background check is highlighted through the above example.

At least, it’s good to know certain clubs do provide the investors with a “Welcome to the Family Fun Pack” with interactive education activities, memorabilia, stickers, while also being able to take their first family portrait with their new owner.