Golden Knights Owner Bill Foley Expanding European Soccer Portfolio With Minority Stake In French Soccer Team; MLS Not On Radar For Foley
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher/Writer
Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, who has desired to make the VGK a global brand since the Golden Knights’ season one, is building a new business model of acquiring soccer teams in Europe that would allow his soccer clubs to transfer players without fees.
Foley gave Major League Soccer in Las Vegas a look. But for now, the multi-business owner is not focusing on MLS. Instead, the self-described “serial dealmaker” is pursuing a multi-club model of soccer teams in Europe.
Foley is doing his soccer team bidding under his “Black Knight Football Club” corporate banner — the partnership led by Foley and majority-owned by Cannae Holdings, Inc.
After Foley and his partners acquired the Premier League’s AFC Bournemouth in England last month, news broke Friday that Foley and his partners acquired a minority stake in a French soccer team called FC Lorient.
Foley also wants more soccer teams around the world. Plus, he will have the chance to increase his stake in the FC Lorient team, which play in French Ligue 1.
“The partnership is building a global network of world-class football clubs, players, and real estate assets that will produce operational synergies, accelerate player development, enable efficient player migration across BKFC’s network of owned and operated clubs,” Foley’s group said today.
The minority ownership group’s investment in FC Lorient is also led by actor/director Michael B. Jordan and music entrepreneur Nullah Sarker.
Jordan and Sarker will work closely with Foley in areas including global marketing and internationalization of Black Knight Football Club. Black Knight is a reference to the sports nickname of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where Foley is a 1967 graduate.
Foley has a diverse portfolio of wineries, vineyards, restaurants, hotels and sports-related properties anchored by his title insurance company Fidelity National Financial.
After building two community ice rink centers in suburban Las Vegas and a small arena in Henderson, Foley is poised to double the capacity of the AFC Bournemouth soccer stadium while also building a training center for the English Premier League team.
To jolt Bournemouth’s business operations, Foley has re-hired Jim Frevola to run that soccer team’s business ops. Frevola used to oversee the Golden Knights’ corporate sponsorships and left his business job at the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning to run AFC Bournemouth’s business side.
