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Silver Lake increases its stake in City Football Group
Private equity firm Silver Lake has increased its stake in City Football Group (CFG) to 14.5%, according to the Financial Times (FT).
The US-based company will become the second largest shareholder of the ownership group which owns the likes of Manchester City, Melbourne City, Lommel SK, Troyes AC and Palermo among others.
The Silicon Valley-based company reportedly acquired a 4.1 per cent share in CFG from China Media Capital (CMC), which retains an 8.2 per cent share. Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) remains the largest shareholder with just over 75 per cent.
Silver Lake initially invested in CFG back in 2019, taking just over 10% in a $748 million deal which valued the group at $7.1 billion.
Since its initial CFG outlay, Silver Lake has made several notable sports investments, including New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and Australian soccer’s A-Leagues, as well as buying Endeavor’s Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH).
English champions Manchester City have also made several commercial strides since Silver Lake’s first involvement with the club reporting a record revenue of $970.4 million for the 2020/21 season.
City were also ranked as the highest earning club in the world for the first time in the latest Deloitte Football Money League.
Silver Lake bought into City Football Group after Hollywood impresario Ari Emanuel – founder of Endeavor – introduced managing partner Egon Durban to CFG’s Khaldoon al-Mubarak.
The private equity firm has formed deep ties with Abu Dhabi. Mubarak is chief executive of Mubadala, an Abu Dhabi sovereign investment fund that took a stake in Silver Lake in 2020. The following year, Silver Lake paid approximately $1.1 billion AUD for a stake in G42, an artificial intelligence and cloud computing group with links to Abu Dhabi’s ruling family.
China Media Capital still owns 8.2 per cent of CFG, having originally paid $726 million to amass a 13% stake. That investment, which valued CFG at $4.4 billion, came after China’s president Xi Jinping visited Manchester City’s football academy in 2015.
Under CFG ownership, Manchester City has won the English Premier League five times and this year overtook rivals to top Deloitte’s annual ranking of the highest revenue-generating football clubs in the world.
Melbourne Victory has celebrated a new partnership with Australian wellness brand, Hydrodol. The deal will see both parties collaborate for the rest of the 2024/25 A-Leagues season.
Hydrodol is a significant supplements provider across Australia, New Zealand the Asia Pacific, supplying customers with cutting edge products tailored to assist with hydration and a range of other health concerns.
Together, Melbourne Victory and Hydrodol will join their philosophies of driving health and fitness forward in order to bring attention to healthy living practices among the Australian football community.
Melbourne Victory Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, expressed admiration for the partnership.
“We are delighted to welcome Hydrodol to the Melbourne Victory family,” she said in a press release.
“This partnership reflects a shared vision of supporting individuals to perform at their best whether they’re on the pitch, in the stands, or in their daily lives. Together, we aim to provide meaningful benefits to our fans, players, and the broader Victory community.”
‘Hydrodol is passionate about empowering people to feel their best, whether they’re elite athletes or everyday Australians,” she said via press release.
“Partnering with Melbourne Victory, Australia’s biggest football club allows us to connect with a vibrant community that values health, performance, and well-being.”
Melbourne Victory Director of Football, John Didulica, outlined the significance of the club’s collaboration with Hydrodol in a press release.
“To lead successful football programs, it is essential that we look to partner with companies like Hydrodol, who can help maintain and improve our players’ recovery from the demands of professional football and readiness to compete each week,” he said via press release.
For the remaining games of the 2024/25 season, fans and spectators will be able to see Hydrodol advertisement material at the Home of the Matilda’s and AAMI Park, as both Melbourne Victory and Hydrodol work to bolster the health and wellbeing of the community.
In a landmark initiative for women’s football, FIFA has unveiled an ambitious strategy aimed at reaching 60 million female players worldwide by 2027.
The comprehensive plan, supported by 13 distinct development programmes, is available to all 211 FIFA Member Associations, marking a significant step forward in the sport’s global evolution.
FIFA also took the announcement to highlight the achievements for women’s football in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Oceanic Football Confederation (OFC).
The recently enhanced FIFA Women’s Development Programme underscores the organisation’s strengthened commitment to expanding the women’s game.
The upcoming 2025 calendar promises several groundbreaking developments for women’s football.
The Philippines will host the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup, while Morocco makes history as the first African nation to stage the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The latter tournament sees significant expansion, growing from 16 to 24 teams and shifting to an annual format.
International competition reaches new heights with continental championships scheduled across multiple confederations.
The pathway to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 commences with African qualification matches, while major regional tournaments including the UEFA Women’s EURO and OFC Women’s Nations Cup will crown new champions.
In a significant advancement for club football, all six confederations will host their respective continental club championships for the first time.
This renewed focus comes amid unprecedented growth in participation rates, particularly evident in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup co-host nations.
New Zealand has reported a remarkable 27 per cent surge in female participation since 2022, with particularly strong growth among Māori and Pasifika communities, showing a 14 per cent increase.
A strategic partnership between New Zealand Football and Māori Football Aotearoa further strengthens grassroots development.
New Zealand Football CEO Andrew Pragnell voiced the federations successful results.
“The expansion of football and futsal in Aotearoa New Zealand has been extraordinary, with the Women’s World Cup serving as a genuine catalyst for growth,” he explained via official FIFA press release.
Across the Tasman, Football Australia’s Growing Football Fund Community Grants programme continues to foster development at the grassroots level.
The latest round of funding benefits 118 recipients, complementing the 121 projects supported in March 2024.
This initiative particularly emphasises regional development, with nearly half the grants allocated to areas outside major metropolitan centres.
The grants provide essential support for women’s football development, encompassing coach education, introductory programmes, and vital equipment procurement, further cementing the sport’s foundation at the community level.
Also within the AFC, footballing powerhouse Japan has successfully hosted the continent’s first female-exclusive Pro Licence coaching course.
A collaborative effort between FIFA, AFC, and the Japan Football Association (JFA), represents a significant milestone in professional football development.
The intensive seven-day course attracted participants from fourteen nations, featuring presents such as AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh and Japan men’s national team coach Hajime Moriyasu.
Participants gained valuable practical experience through observations of pre-season training sessions at both J.League and Nadeshiko League clubs.
JFA Technical Director Masanaga Kageyama emphasised the programme’s strategic importance and inclusivity.
“This course is a joint AFC/JFA initiative to increase the number of top-level, professionally licensed female coaches in Asia. It aims to provide existing talents with additional advice to help them achieve greater success in their current coaching positions and secure future success,” Kageyama explained via official FIFA press release.
This initiative aligns with JFA’s renowned long-term development philosophy and a significant advancement in creating pathways for women in professional football coaching.
This newly improved strategy at the global scale will hopefully allow for more women in both professional and amateur spaces to get the opportunities they deserve in football.
It also highlight’s that AFC & OFC nations, including Australia, will have a strong place within the growth of women’s football.
Read more on the FIFA Women’s Development Program here.