Football Club Ownership

Who owns English and international football clubs — the holding companies, majority shareholders and investment groups behind them, with the ownership tests and rules that now govern who is allowed to buy one.

Who owns UK football clubs?

Almost no club is owned directly by a person. Clubs are companies, usually held through one or more holding companies, and often ultimately controlled by an investment vehicle, a family office or a state-linked fund. Naming “the owner” without naming the structure gives a misleading answer.

Club owners and shareholding structures

Profiles record the club’s legal entity, its immediate holding company, the majority shareholder, and any significant minority holders. Minority stakes matter: they carry board representation and veto rights, and they are where ownership changes usually begin.

Multi-club ownership groups

One group holding stakes in several clubs across different countries is now common, and it is regulated — competition rules restrict clubs under common control from meeting in the same tournament. Where a club belongs to such a group, its profile links to the others.

Popular club ownership profiles

The most-searched club profiles appear below.

Ownership changes and takeovers

Football ownership turns over faster than most sectors, and takeovers are drawn out and frequently reported before they complete. Profiles distinguish between an agreed deal, a completed one and a rumoured one, and carry the date ownership was verified.

English football also now has an independent regulator with an owners’ and directors’ test, alongside the competitions’ own tests. Passing one of those tests is not the same as ownership being settled, and profiles keep the two apart.

Browse football club ownership

Profiles are ordered by search demand and cover clubs across the English pyramid and major overseas leagues.