LAFC’s global reach: How the MLS club’s ownership web spans 14 countries and major clubs
IMAGO | Los Angeles FC players ahead of their Western Conference final against Houston Dynamo FC.
Earlier this month LAFC acquired FC Grasshopper Zurich, adding them to an ownership group that includes an Austrian team and a joint venture with Bayern Munich.
Off The Pitch analysis shows that their ownership ties stretch much further and span 14 countries, involving clubs like Chelsea and Atletico Madrid.
Why it matters: LAFC’s owners highlights the growing complexity of football club ownership and offers a snapshot into the dilemmas facing the game’s rulers regarding MCOs and private equity investment.
The perspective: While MCOs are typically hierarchical, with European clubs from more historic football nations being at the top of the structure, the Grasshopper deal flips the model with the MLS club “at the pinnacle.”
29 January 2024 - 2:46 PM
The ownership group of Los Angeles FC (LAFC), which earlier this month acquired FC Grasshopper Club Zurich, now has direct and indirect financial ties to 24 clubs globally, Off The Pitch can reveal.
An Off The Pitch analysis of LAFC’s ownership consortium revealed the nexus that spans 14 countries, via a mixture of partnerships with LAFC, direct ownership ties with LAFC’s consortium membership, and ownership via investment companies
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