Auckland FC’s majority owner Bill Foley is in talks with Portugese club Casa Pia with a view to adding it to his Black Knight group.
The BBC report negotiations are at an early stage, and the Lisbon club is also attracting interest from other investors in the United States. Casa Pia play in Portugal’s Primeira Liga, the country’s top flight competition.
Texan billionaire Foley (79) has openly promoted a vision and business strategy of building a global group of football clubs who share expertise, and opportunities to move players within the group.
The Black Knight group already owns English Premier League club Bournemouth, and minority stakes in French Ligue 1’s Lorient and Scottish Premiership club Hibernian.
The group owns an 82% controlling stake in A-League expansion club Auckland FC.
Foley recently told the BBC: “We have a multi-club strategy so we promote players from Club A to Club B to Club C to Club D.
“We now have four clubs, and we are about to acquire a controlling interest in another club. It is all designed to give the players a path to the Premier League.
“If we can do that, we should be able to be competitive and not have to kill ourselves financially. We are not a sovereign wealth fund or private equity. We are just simple little guys from America who came over and bought a team.”
An example of moving players between clubs has been All Whites goalkeeper Alex Paulsen.
He transferred from the Wellington Phoenix to Bournemouth, and has since joined Auckland FC on a season’s loan.
This story was first published on September 20, 2024.
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