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V Sports
British-based holding company From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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, with a minority stake held by American investment firm Atairos.[3] The company derives its name from Aston Villa, the flagship football club, and acts as the club's parent company.
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. and a 25% stake in Spanish side Real Unión. V Sports also has partnership agreements with ZED FC of the Egyptian Premier League, Vissel Kobe of the J1 League. The clubs in the V Sports network share scouting resources, coaching methodologies, and youth development strategies.[4]
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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.[5] NSWE was rebranded to V Sports in 2021, as Sawiris and Edens began to pursue a multi-club model.[1]
V Sports, upon rebranding, showcased their intentions to expand into African football, with an youth partnership between Aston Villa and Egyptian Premier League club ZED FC, owned by Sawiris' brother Naguib Sawiris, announced in December 2021. In April 2023, a further partnership agreement between ZED FC and all V Sports clubs (including Vitória SC) was announced. This partnership has seen Aston Villa sign ZED FC youth player and Egyptian Under-17 international, Omar Khedr, in August 2023.[6] Furthermore, A V Sports youth academy investment in Senegal was known to exist by late 2022.[7] 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."[8]
In February 2023, V Sports would complete the purchase of a 46% stake in Primeira Liga club Vitória S.C.[4] Sawiris noted that discussions had been ongoing regarding an investment into Vitória since 2021.[4] However, V Sports was required by UEFA to reduce its share in Vitória from 46% to 29% in June 2023, as both clubs were in the qualifying rounds of the 2023-24 UEFA Europa Conference League.[9] The requirement also necessitated that no players were transferred or loaned between the clubs until September 2024 at the earliest.[10]
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.[11] The 30th team in the league was instead awarded to San Diego in May 2023.[12]
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.[13] In October 2023, former director of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Matthew Kidson joined as Director of Global Development.[14]
On 19 October 2023, V Sports announced a partnership between its member clubs and Japanese club Vissel Kobe.[15][16]
On 28 November 2023, V Sports announced a partnership with Spanish club Real Unión: the club owned by the family of Aston Villa manager Unai Emery.[17] On 19 December 2024, Real Unión's shareholders ratified an agreement that would see V Sports purchase an approximate 25% stake in the club.[18]
On 15 December 2023, V Sports announced an agreement with Comcast-backed American investment firm Atairos to invest in V Sports.[19] The agreement, which valued V Sports at more than £500 million, saw Atairos obtain a 20% stake in the wider V Sports holding company.[20] The deal with Atairos was finalised on 12 April 2024.[21] By October 2024, investment within V Sports had seen Atairo's stake increase to roughly 32%.[22]
On June 2025, V Sports announced the appointment of Francesco Calvo as President of Business Operations from Juventus FC, having also previously held executive roles at AS Roma and FC Barcelona.[23] Calvo would replace the outgoing Chris Heck, who departed the organisation in April 2025 to pursue a similar role at LIV Golf.[24]
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V Sports affiliated teams
Aston Villa F.C. & Aston Villa W.F.C. – V Sports have full ownership of the club, with Sawiris and Edens acting as club chairmen. Considered the flagship brand.
Vitória S.C – V Sports originally owned a 46% stake, but in order to comply with UEFA rules, now only owns 29%, with no representation on the board of directors.[10]
ZED FC – Collaboration agreement to develop younger talents, in partnership with ZED's academy in Senegal. Aston Villa provide assistance in the technical and physical development of academy players, offer training to coaches and give access to their scouting network. Additionally, ZED can send young players to train with Aston Villa's youth academy and get experience of European football at a young age. In exchange, other V Sports clubs have access to sign those players ahead of other teams, which was evident with the transfer of Omar Khedr to Aston Villa, which was announced in August 2023, and became official in July 2024.[25]
Vissel Kobe – Bilateral collaboration agreement where the two clubs create a development framework for players and coaching staff, with an encouragement to share ideas and coaching techniques, in order to increase the development of youth players at both teams' academies. Players from Vissel's Under-18 squad, such as Kaito Yamada and Kento Hamasaki have been sent to train at Aston Villa's Bodymoor Heath Training Ground.[25]
Real Unión – An initial collaboration starting in November 2023 progressing to ownership of a 25% stake in the club by December 2024. V Sports assists with technical coaching methodology in order to improve Real Unión's standing in the Spanish league system. Unión initially appointed then-Aston Villa 21 manager Iñigo Idiakez as head coach, with then-Aston Villa coach Albert Carbó the current head coach. Additionally, Unión have received an influx of loanees from Aston Villa's academy, with the likes of Tommi O'Reilly, Josh Feeney, James Wright and Finley Munroe joining the club to develop senior experience.[25][26]
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References
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