>From the Your Middle East James M. Dorsey > Last updated: November 1, 2011 > Dubai’s United Investment Bank has launched the region’s first alternative > investment football fund modelled on similar controversial European funds > amid rising fan opposition in Turkey, Spain and Portugal to hedge funds > making bets in football player markets. > > The Royal Football Fund, which is hoping to raise $200 million from > investors, will focus on acquiring the economic rights of young players in > Latin American, African and European countries with a track record in > developing talent in a bid to offer investors an alternative investment > strategy in football. > > An estimated 20 per cent of the fund will be invested in listed football > clubs and television rights for friendly games and tournaments. > > The fund hopes to break with the poor performance of past football-focused > investment vehicles in the region by following the example of European > football hedge funds of co-investing with agents and clubs that have needed > expertise. > > Gulf royals and wealthy businessmen have in recent years bought a number > of clubs in Europe, including Manchester City, Paris St. Germain, Muenchen > 1860 and FC Malaga. Manchester United is believed to still be in > intermittent talks over a sale to Qatar’s sovereign fund, the Qatar > Investment Authority. > > Gulf states, including Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE, see investment in > football as a way to project themselves on the international stage; > increase their political, economic and commercial leverage; create business > opportunities and establish themselves as sport hubs. Qatar, in the most > dramatic and controversial move, last December won the right to host the > 2022 World Cup. > > Qatar’s Al Jazeera has led in securing broadcast rights with the > acquisition of the rights for 23 countries of the 2014 and 2022 World Cups > as well as French premier league rights and reports that it may bid for the > English Premier League. Al-Jazeera is launching this week a dedicated > sports channel across the Middle East and North Africa that will broadcast > hourly news bulletins and 20 sports news programs. > > By contrast with Gulf funds, European hedge funds have been achieving > yields of 60 per cent and more per player. Jersey-based Quality Sports > Investments Ltd. -- a joint venture between the Los Angeles-based talent > agency CAA and Gestifute SA, which represents among others Cristiano > Ronaldo, the world’s most expensive player -- and London’s Doyen Capital > Partners LLP work with Turkey’s Besiktas, Atletico Madrid and Sporting > Lisbon to bankroll signings in return for a share of the profit when the > players are traded to another club and buy stakes in under-contract squad > members. > > The English Premier League banned third-party ownership of players after > it complicated in 2008 striker Carlos Tevez’s move to Manchester United. > The practice is however allowed under the rules of world football body FIFA > as long as investors don’t interfere in player trades. > > Hedge funds have become attractive as banks increasingly refuse to extend > credit to clubs for the acquisition of players. “For many clubs it’s the > only way to get access to credit,” said former Spanish league vice > president Javier Tebas. > > Fans fear that the association with investment funds undermines a club’s > ability to generate funds of its own. “It’s still very important for fans: > the notion that players belong to the team and not to a hedge fund. It’s > not wanted and not welcome,” said Liverpool University football finance > expert. > > Besiktas fan opposition to third party acquisition of some of their team’s > players is fuelled by unsubstantiated suspicions that the investment fund > is a front for club president Yildirim Demiroren, a wealthy businessman who > has lent Besiktas just under $100 million. “Some suspect that he is using > the fund to buy players as the only way to get his money back,” a Turkish > football official said. > > An investment fund helped Besiktas early this year acquire three > Portuguese players -- Hugo Almeida, Simao Sabrosa and Manuel Fernandes. > Prominent Portuguese agent Jorge Paulo Agostinho Mendes is believed to be > one of the investors in the fund that made the transfer possible. Fans > initially welcomed the three players but have since turned against them > accusing them of acting as a group and obstructing the club’s success. > > A Spanish fund managed by Banco Espirito Santo SA (BES) has achieved > returns of more than 60 per cent per player, according to Mr. Tebas. > > Lisbon-based Espirito Santo, which manages the Benfica All Stars fund bet > $62 million in 2009 on the rights of 24 players contracted to the > Portuguese club, according to team filings. Bloomberg calculated that the > $6.15 million purchase of 20 per cent of the rights of playmaker Angel di > Maria yielded a return of as much as 64 per cent once he joined Real Madrid > for some $50 million. > > “This is a short-term fix that only benefits a select group of investors > and team owners. It’s no way to develop a football team,” Bloomberg quoted > Jose Luis Sanchez, head of Senales de Humo, an Atletico fan club, as saying. > > James M. Dorsey is a Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of > International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University and the > author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer > http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/columns/article/dubai-bank-launches-first-football-hedge-fund-despite-mounting-fan-opposition_2610 > > > Dr Michael Benjamin, Community Psychiatrist ------------------------------- myRay: On-line Self-Help CBT http://www.myRay.com http://www.myRay.org ------------------------------ Mental Health: http//www.MyDoctorExplains.com -------------------------------- Auditing || Quality Control http://www.MyDoctorExplains.com/alamo/ -------------------------------- Blog: http://www.DrMichaelBenjamin.com _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected]
PETE CASS (1962 - 2011) Rest In Peace Mate
