V Sports

V Sports is a holding company that administers association football clubs. The company is jointly owned by American billionaire Wes Edens and Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris. The company derives its name from Aston Villa, the flagship football club, and acts as the club's parent company.

This article is about the sports company. For the Nordic television channels, see V Sport.
V Sports
TypeHolding company
Industry
  • Sports
  • Sports services
Founded2018 as NSWE[1]
Founder
Key people
Chris Heck (President of Business Operations)
Subsidiaries

In addition to the men's and women's sides of Aston Villa, V Sports also owns a 29% stake in Portuguese side Vitória S.C. V Sports also has partnership agreements with ZED FC of the Egyptian Premier League, who are owned by Nassef Sawiris' brother Naguib Sawiris, and Vissel Kobe of the J1 League. The clubs in the V Sports network share scouting resources, coaching methodologies, and youth development strategies.[2]

History

The company was founded as NSWE in July 2018 ahead of Edens and Sawiris' purchase of a 55% stake in EFL Championship club Aston Villa. This was subsequently increased to a full purchase of the club in August 2019, following Aston Villa's promotion to the Premier League[3]. NSWE was rebranded to V Sports in 2021.[1]

Having confirmed an initial partnership between ZED FC and Aston Villa to develop youth players in December 2021, a formal partnership agreement between ZED and V Sports (including Vitória SC) was announced in 2023.[4] Aston Villa announced the pre-signing of ZED FC youth player and Egyptian Under-17 international, Omar Khedr, in August 2023.[4]

A youth academy investment in Senegal was announced in late 2022.[5] Vitória president António Miguel Cardoso described this as : "the largest training complex in Senegal is owned by V Sports. We are talking about young athletes, up to the age of 18, who are in Senegal being worked on so that they can then follow their professional project."[6]

V Sports purchased 46% of Vitória S.C. in February 2023, the company was advised by Slaughter & May.[7][2] Having completed the acquisition Nassef Sawiris noted that discussions had been ongoing for almost two years between V Sports and Vitória.[2] However, V Sports was required by UEFA to reduce its share in Vitória from 46% to 29% to comply with regulations in June 2023 as both clubs were in the qualifying rounds of the 2023-24 UEFA Europa Conference League.[8][9] The requirement also necessitated that no players were transferred or loaned between the clubs until September 2024 at the earliest.

V Sports had entered formal discussions with Major League Soccer (MLS) regarding forming a club in Las Vegas in early 2022, with the name Las Vegas Villains trademarked.[10] The 30th team in the league was instead awarded to San Diego in May 2023.[11]

In May 2023 Chris Heck, former president of the Philadelphia 76ers, was announced as the President of Business Operations for both V Sports and Aston Villa.[12]

On 19 October 2023, V Sports announced a partnership between its member clubs and Japanese club Vissel Kobe.[13][14]

See also

References
  1. Townley, John (15 February 2023). "Vitoria release statement confirming key details of Aston Villa deal". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  2. Evans, Gregg. "Aston Villa to acquire 46 per cent of Vitoria Sport Clube". The Athletic. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  3. Bassam, Tom (12 August 2019). "Aston Villa owners buy out Tony Xia in debt financing play". SportsPro. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  4. Club, Aston Villa Football (14 August 2023). "Aston Villa sign Egyptian talent Omar Khedr". Aston Villa Football Club. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  5. Preece, Ashley (5 October 2022). "Wes Edens maps out 'extraordinary' Aston Villa investment in Africa". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  6. Preece, Ashley (21 February 2023). "Vitoria SC detail Nassef Sawiris grand vision after Aston Villa deal". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  7. "Slaughter and May is advising V Sports SCS on their acquisition of shares in Vitoria Spórt Clube". www.slaughterandmay.com. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  8. Club, Aston Villa Football (29 June 2023). "V Sports announces the reduction of its stake in Vitoria Sport Clube – Futebol, SAD". Aston Villa Football Club. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  9. Cunningham, Sam (30 June 2023). "Aston Villa owners forced to reduce stake in Vitoria de Guimaraes after Conference League clash". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  10. Townley, John (30 March 2023). "V Sports face $1bn spend after Aston Villa partner update". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  11. Townley, John (18 May 2023). "Aston Villa owners NSWE forced to shelve $1bn investment after huge setback". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  12. Staff, Sportico (19 May 2023). "Sportico Transactions: Moves and Mergers Roundup for May 19". Sportico.com. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  13. Maher, Matt (19 October 2023). "Aston Villa announce partnership with Japanese club Vissel Kobe". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  14. Club, Aston Villa Football (19 October 2023). "Aston Villa and Vissel Kobe seal exciting new strategic partnership". Aston Villa Football Club. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
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