Fantasy sports and gaming company Dream Sports has joined the ownership group of English football club Salford City FC, becoming part of a consortium led by footballing icons David Beckham and Gary Neville, alongside business leaders Declan Kelly and Lord Mervyn Davies.
The move marks Dream Sports’ entry into football club ownership and aligns with its growing international ambitions.
While the financial terms were not disclosed, the deal includes a commitment by the new shareholders to make significant investments in the club, its team, and infrastructure.
The acquisition has been structured through a members' club comprising nine shareholders, including Dream Sports Group, Colin Ryan (founder, Clipper Street Capital), Frank Ryan (Global Co-Chair, DLA Piper), Nick Woodhouse (executive vice chairman, Authentic Brands Group), and Shravin Mittal (founder, Unbound).
“By uniting unparalleled expertise from the worlds of sport and business, we are committed to driving success for Salford City Football Club!” Mumbai-based Dream Sports said in a social media post on Friday.
Salford City FC, which competes in League Two—the fourth tier of English football—has been partly owned by a group of former Manchester United players from the famed ‘Class of ’92’. The group comprises Beckham, Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Nicky Butt. Beckham joined the ownership group in 2019 with a 10% stake.
Over the years, the group has brought in new investors to professionalise operations and strengthen the club’s commercial profile.
Dream Sports, which operates the popular fantasy platform Dream11, has been steadily expanding beyond India. It is backed by investors such as Tiger Global and TPG, and has been actively exploring global opportunities in sports tech, content, and now, club ownership.
On March 31, ET reported that Dream Sports had shifted its domicile from Delaware, US, to India through a reverse merger, becoming one of the first new-age firms to use the fast-track route for cross-border mergers.
In an earlier interview with ET, Dream Sports CEO Harsh Jain said the company is aggressively diversifying in a bid to become a global sports conglomerate, at a time when its core business faces headwinds due to India’s tax regime for online gaming.
The move marks Dream Sports’ entry into football club ownership and aligns with its growing international ambitions.
While the financial terms were not disclosed, the deal includes a commitment by the new shareholders to make significant investments in the club, its team, and infrastructure.
The acquisition has been structured through a members' club comprising nine shareholders, including Dream Sports Group, Colin Ryan (founder, Clipper Street Capital), Frank Ryan (Global Co-Chair, DLA Piper), Nick Woodhouse (executive vice chairman, Authentic Brands Group), and Shravin Mittal (founder, Unbound).
“By uniting unparalleled expertise from the worlds of sport and business, we are committed to driving success for Salford City Football Club!” Mumbai-based Dream Sports said in a social media post on Friday.
Salford City FC, which competes in League Two—the fourth tier of English football—has been partly owned by a group of former Manchester United players from the famed ‘Class of ’92’. The group comprises Beckham, Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Nicky Butt. Beckham joined the ownership group in 2019 with a 10% stake.
Over the years, the group has brought in new investors to professionalise operations and strengthen the club’s commercial profile.
Dream Sports, which operates the popular fantasy platform Dream11, has been steadily expanding beyond India. It is backed by investors such as Tiger Global and TPG, and has been actively exploring global opportunities in sports tech, content, and now, club ownership.
On March 31, ET reported that Dream Sports had shifted its domicile from Delaware, US, to India through a reverse merger, becoming one of the first new-age firms to use the fast-track route for cross-border mergers.
In an earlier interview with ET, Dream Sports CEO Harsh Jain said the company is aggressively diversifying in a bid to become a global sports conglomerate, at a time when its core business faces headwinds due to India’s tax regime for online gaming.
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