Why do so many wealthy Americans invest in British soccer teams? : NPR

Located on the south coast of Britain in the county of Dorset, Bournemouth is a quintessential English seaside town, famous for its sandy beach and fish and chips. At the beginning of October, Bournemouth Men’s Football Club hosted Fulham, London’s oldest professional football team, in a tightly contested Premier League match.

But although these two soccer teams may appear to be entirely English, they are actually owned by Americans. And they’re not alone: ​​teams like Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United, which have fans around the world, all now have American owners. In reality, More than half Of the 92 teams in the top four leagues in England and Wales, some teams have American ownership, while Americans also invest in teams in Scotland and across Europe.

“It’s a much less expensive option at a high level of major sports,” explains Jim Frevola, Bournemouth’s head of commercial operations. Frevola moved from America to Bournemouth three years ago to help run the franchise for billionaire owner Bill Foley.

Frevola compares the prices of British football teams with those of franchises in sports such as the NFL and NBA in America. “Teams will go for six or eight billion… where you can buy teams in the Premier League for an affordable opportunity,” Frevola said. “It’s the best league in the world and the best sport in the world.”

Since his move to Bournemouth, Frevola has been overwhelmed by the passion of English football fans. “I never thought sports were different…until I came here,” Frevola said. “It wasn’t until two or three months into living here that I realized this is their life… This is what people live and breathe for. This is special. This is unique.”

Healthcare and property investor Kevin Nagle is the owner of Huddersfield FC, a third-tier team in Yorkshire, which he bought two years ago. “I think instead of saying the British are coming, we say the Americans are coming,” Nigel joked. “I bought it outright in a very short period of time, without even watching it,” he added. “I didn’t come to Huddersfield until afterwards to see what it was like. I was very, very happy.”

Nagle also owns a soccer team in California, the Sacramento Republic. But like Jim Frevola, he says there is something special about the richness of British football’s history. “It’s amazing to see so many of our fans, because their great, great, great grandparents watched the team play,” Nagel says. “Do we like football in the US? Yes. But do we have the tradition in the UK? Absolutely not.”

The participation of many American celebrities brought more attention to British football teams. Actor Will Ferrell has invested in Leeds, rapper Snoop Dogg in Swansea, and basketball star LeBron James in Liverpool. Likewise, actor Michael B. Jordan owns a stake in Bournemouth.

Some stars have made documentaries about their teams. First, Canadian-born Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds and fellow actor and producer Rob McElhenney produced the documentary. Welcome to Wrexham About their journey to buy the Welsh Wrexham franchise, which is now in its fourth season. This year, former NFL player Tom Brady joined them with his documentary Built in Birminghamabout becoming co-owner of Birmingham City Football Club.

Television fiction also fostered American interest in British football, especially successful television dramas Ted LassoThe film is about an American college football coach who is hired to manage a football team in London. The series, which stars Jason Sudeikis and Brett Goldstein, is scheduled to release its fourth season next year, for which it has won several Emmy Awards.

Celebrity involvement in many franchises can be attention-grabbing, and usually takes the form of a minority stake, said Christina Filippo, an assistant professor of accounting and sports finance at the University of Portsmouth. “They are able to effectively use their status to enhance the club’s image and help bring in more external income especially in terms of commercial partnerships,” Filippo said.

She explained that while English football has seen investment from Russia and Gulf states over the years, the new American owners have made their teams more commercial, as well as strengthening the women’s football teams in several British franchises. “We’ve seen more investment in women’s football at club level… part of that [that] “It’s American money because traditionally they were more interested in women’s football.”

In the United States, British soccer has a growing audience, with 40 million fans, many of whom watch it on CBS, says Ben Wright, chief commercial officer for the English Football League — which covers both England and Wales. Wright said interest in soccer in America has grown significantly during the pandemic. “It was like people couldn’t get out and tour the world, and they were seeing too much,” Wright said.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi, the Argentine considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time, plays for American soccer team Inter Miami. Moreover, next summer the World Cup will be held jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico, which experts hope will lead to the development of the sport.

Some football fans in Britain fear that American owners may want to make changes to their league, such as playing league matches in the USA. But Bournemouth manager Jim Frevola says that although he aims to grow his team’s fan base in the US, there are no plans for major reforms. “I think there may be a misconception that American ownership wants to establish [big changes]”I’ve heard crazy things like the All-Star Games,” Frevola said. “This will never happen.”

In a bar near Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium, most fans expressed their support for their American owner, Bill Foley. Supporter Siri Morgan said that although the slight increase in ticket prices had been a drag, the investment was clearly visible. He added: “The stadium looks smarter now and we will have more capacity next season.” Fellow lifelong fan Dom Webb agreed. “It’s been unbelievable,” he said. “We have really solid foundations now, and it seems like the sky is the limit.”