Multi-Club Ownership- The future of Football
Multi-club ownership is a new buzzword in football, particularly in Europe, due to the activities of the City Football Group — owners of Manchester City — and the Red Bull Empire, which stretches from Leipzig and Salzburg to New York and Brazil. MCO is an acronym that is destined to become more prevalent in the footballing world, but how many clubs are linked globally and what are the implications?
In 2017 UEFA investigated Multi-Club ownership in Football. According to their research, 26 top-flight clubs in Europe are involved in cross-ownership. By February, the number of teams had risen to 56, with 20 investors owning three or more clubs, including one in Europe. UEFA estimates that there are 90 clubs with ties to each other, with “just under” 50 shareholders controlling two or more clubs.
Cross-ownership is tough to measure because firms acquire, sell, and even close teams almost weekly — as Inter Milan’s owners Suning did to reigning Chinese Super League winners Jiangsu in February — but external research reveals the phenomenon is far larger. It discovered 45 separate MCO groups controlling 117 clubs. These clubs represent 37 different countries from around the world.
From India to Turkey and the United States, the majority are in Europe. More English sides are involved in MCOs than in any other country, but a dozen Belgium clubs have ownership links to other teams, while there are eight clubs in Denmark.
In several nations, majority ownership is illegal. This blocked the NewCity Capital/Pacific Media Group from purchasing Scottish League One side Partick Thistle (whose portfolio of clubs includes Barnsley in England and Esbjerg in Denmark). Investors in countries like Austria and Germany can find ways to get past the rules.
Clubs are looking for new solutions to the ever-increasing severe rivalry for acquiring and nurturing top players around the world. Vertical integration is a popular strategy in which club owners, generally from the top divisions, buy satellite clubs in lower levels to secure playing time for their young players who would otherwise be blocked from regular first-team opportunities. Examples of this are Chelsea and their feeder club Vittese Arnhem.
The biggest of these Multi-Club franchises are Red Bull and the City Football Group. Red Bull’s main franchises are New York Red Bulls in the MLS, Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga. The biggest and arguably best of the lot is RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga. Which usually the get’s the best talent from the group of clubs. They further own other clubs such as Red Bull Bragantino and Red Bull Ghana and Red Bull Brasil, all of these clubs wear crests and similar kits of the iconic Red Bull brand.
The City Football Groups has more flexibility in terms of Kits and Logos, but the philosophy and coaching style stay the same across pretty much all of the clubs. heir main club is of course Manchester City FC, probably one of the most successful clubs in England and a fanbase that reaches all seven continents. They also have another club, New York City FC which, you guessed it, is regional rivals with another Franchise club, New York Red Bulls. They also have clubs, in India, Japan and Australia.
These clubs have been known to help young footballers get to the big stage. Say a young Ghanaian forward has impressed at his grassroots club, a top Red Bull scout sees him play and then he eventually gets a place at the Red Bull Ghana academy.
Years go by and he eventually makes his first-team start. He impresses for two seasons and then at 16 lands a transfer to the New York Red Bulls.
He impresses there also, stays for some time, and eventually lands a transfer to Red Bull Salzburg, or in this case a promotion.
You probably guessed it, he was absolutely phenomenal at Salzburg and gets his Champions league debut.
RB Leipzig then comes knocking on the door. He moves to Leipzig, impresses there and then he finally moves out of the Red Bull Circle.
Into the big boys.
Red Bull does give you wings, and often seamless transitions between clubs, due to the similar play, coaching styles and Support system. Red Bull has been known for producing immense talents such as Naby Keita and Dayot Upamecano.
City Football Group Talents, include the likes of Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, and towards the twilight of his career — Frank Lampard.
So what’s next for MCO?
“In the future, you could have these global clubs running their own competitions,” “These clubs could start with some summer competitions and if they don’t see enough advantage in UEFA’s competitions, then maybe they will run their own competitions.” Olivier Jarosz
MCO may be only part of the evolving football universe but given the stature of some of the clubs involved that may be a realistic end game that could have significant consequences for world football.
