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The San Francisco 49ers venture arm holds control of the Rangers Football Club, casting its weight behind the efforts of the Scottish side to revive its fortunes and compete with dominant rival Celtic.
49ers Enterprises, the investment business of the NFL team, already owns the English language Premier League Club Leeds United and leads a consortium committed to buying shares from existing shareholders and helping to inject £20 million in capital into the Glasgow club.
Insurance Executive Andrew Cavena will be chair of the 49ers Enterprises and Rangers, with Paragmalasse, who leads the Leeds Board, becoming vice-chairman. The transaction will be subject to shareholder approval at a meeting next month.
49ers Enterprises has become the latest owner of Top Tier English Club, participating in the Scottish premiership after Bill Foley’s Black Night Football Club, owner of AFC Bournemouth, purchased shares in the Edinburghside Hibernian.
Supporters of another Edinburgh team, Midlothian Heart of Midlothian, supporters support Brighton & Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom, who will invest £10 million in a 29% stake in the club. He charged this as an attempt to “disrupt Scottish football.” It has long been dominated by the Glasgow side, known as the old company.
Centre to become the Rangers Chair, Andrew Cavena, “Our focus is simple: improve performance, provide results, and bring Rangers back to where they belong.” © Andrew Milligan/PA
Founded in 1872, the Rangers, playing at Ibrox Stadium, 51,000-talented, have won 55 league titles on a long list of major honors. The fierce rivalry with Celtic is one of the most intense contests in world football and the most commercially appealing fixture in Scottish sports.
However, this season, Celtic coincided with the Rangers title record. The Rangers have not been able to add to the tally since winning the league in 2021 and have had to watch them win 13 of the last 14 Scottish titles.
“The history and tradition of this club speaks for itself, but history doesn’t win games,” Cavena said. “Our focus is simple: improve performance, provide results and bring rangers back to where they belong.”
The arrival of new investors could be a turning point for rangers who have endured years of roller coaster. The team has returned to Scotland’s top flight, which was pushed to the lowest level in 2012 after the club’s debts swelled.
The takeover required approval from the Scottish Football Association to comply with governing body rules regarding owners interested in other clubs for the 49ers’ involvement in Leeds.
However, this transaction is not constituted as a multi-club ownership group. This is an increasingly popular way of purchasing and investing in soccer clubs, and rangers and Leeds, according to those with knowledge of this issue, do not sit within the so-called MCO.
It is designed to make it easier for Rangers and Leeds to participate in European competitions if they qualify in the future.
“The Rangers’ CEO is a member of the Rangers who joined the club at Manchester United in December 18 years later, said: “We’re a sought-after job at the club.
The Rangers, who are also seeking a new team manager, reported a pre-tax loss of around £17 million on revenue of £88 million over the 2023-24 season, while Celtic made a pre-tax profit of £124 million with revenue of £107.8 million.
