Multi-club ownership (MCO) has exploded in sport, particularly in football, over the past decade. This trend has been fueled by the sport’s transformation into a global asset class, attracting major investment from high-net-worth individuals, private equity firms and institutional funds. Clubs are increasingly prepared to turn to outside capital, including portfolio-style investment, in the post-pandemic era.
While MCO is not exclusive to any one sport, football has proven most attractive to investors, especially from the US. Indeed, according to UEFA’s European Club Finance and Investment Landscape Report 2024, 47% of multi-club investment groups originate from the US. Football is also the sport where the existing MCO regulatory framework, designed to safeguard the integrity of club competitions, has come under most scrutiny.
In this article, we examine:
The differences between vertical and horizontal ownership models;
The growth of MCO investment in football;
Some of the perceived benefits and synergies to be harnessed through MCO structures;
What can be learnt from the recently published Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Decisions regarding UEFA’s MCO Rules; and
What the future may hold for MCO.
