The pursuit of…multi-club ownership with a social conscience

As the credits roll for The Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith walks past the man he plays in the hit Hollywood film, the inspiration behind an incredibly moving true story about homelessness, perseverance and parenthood .

The film depicts Chris Gardner’s real-life struggle as a single father in 1980s San Francisco – sleeping on the streets, sometimes in a subway station bathroom, and juggling daycare while trying to make both ends meet. ends as he strives to gain a job as a stockbroker.

If they did make a sequel, it might just include the 70-year-old American’s latest venture into football under a unique model of multi-club ownership, complete with a social conscience.

Originally founded in Milan, Brera Holdings has just added Serie B side Juve Stabia in southern Italy to a growing portfolio that includes clubs from North Macedonia, Mozambique and Mongolia .

Gardner, now a motivational speaker and philanthropist after making millions in the stock market, is part of an eclectic team at Brera. They include, in various roles, former footballers Giuseppe Rossi and Goran Pandev, Massimo Ferragamo, the son of the illustrious Italian shoe designer Salvatore, MLS founder Alan Rothenberg, as well as a number of leading banking and financial experts.

“One of the most successful sporting operations in the world, if not the most successful, is the English Premier League,” Gardner told BBC Sport. “I’m not going to be asked to sit at the table with the guys from Manchester United or Chelsea. But what we could do, we could build our own table and start from scratch.”

Gardner laughs at the idea that he might call Oscar-winning actor Smith, his on-screen alter ego, to join Brera’s hard-hitting cast – although there have been talks of a new film – and says that ‘they don’t chase “big names or checks”. books.”

Instead, Brera, publicly traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange, hopes to attract sports fans who believe in the philosophy of multi-club ownership and social impact.

“You’re giving the opportunity to people who don’t have that kind of money to say, ‘I want to participate, I believe in the concept, I believe in the vision, I want to be a part of it.’ . adds Gardner.

It all started in Milan

Think Milan, iconic stadiums and World Cup stars and, of course, the first team you land on may not be Brera Calcio, a team founded in 2000 by journalist and publisher Alessandro Aleotti with the ambition of becoming the city’s “third team”.

Former Italian goalkeeper Walter Zenga managed them and they play in the historic Arena Civica, which opened in 1807 and is the oldest stadium in continental Europe and has hosted Inter, AC Milan and the ‘national team.

Brera’s 25 years of existence have not always been easy from a footballing point of view. Formerly in Serie D, they now reside in the amateur leagues.

Off the field, however, they are renowned for their innovative social and cultural projects. One of the first involved entering a prison team into a local league, while others focused on helping immigrants integrate through football or, from a cultural perspective, promoting and the celebration of the artistic heritage of the Brera district.

The most recent, and perhaps best known outside Italy, is the Fenix ​​Trophy – a competition organized by Brera which has achieved cult status as the “Champions League for semi-professional and amateur clubs” and who played his final in the emblematic San Francisco stadium. Siro Stadium.

“We always try to think outside the box and use the tools that football has given us to create something new and very visible,” explains Leonardo Aleotti, who has continued his father’s work and directs the Trophy Fenix.

It was this aspect that prompted a group of American investors to buy Brera in 2022. They used the Milan club as a platform, creating Brera Tchumene in Mozambique, Brera Ilch in Mongolia and acquiring Akademija Pandev – the Macedonian club founded by national team hero and former Inter striker Pandev, now AP Brera Strumica.

The portfolio also includes the Milan-based UYBA Volley women’s volleyball team.

“The whole message we took to the market was a new category called ‘social impact football’ – which means making friends not millionaires,” says executive chairman Daniel McClory, borrowing a phrase from FC United of Manchester, double winner of the Fenix ​​Trophy.

“It’s gone from something interesting that sets us apart to something that’s recognized as a core value, that even the parties we talk to want to embrace and embrace.”

Maria Xing, who previously worked at Liverpool and 777 Partners, joined Brera as head of investment and corporate development earlier this year and found this aspect of the project attractive.

“All clubs partner with local communities,” she says. “Whether it’s through local prison systems and trying to organize five-a-side matches to reform the way prisoners spend their time, or partnering with local schools and having players from Mozambique play with kids. It really seemed to have an impact.”

The agreed investment in Juve Stabia, a 117-year-old club residing in the culturally important town of Castellammare di Stabia, close to Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast, is no different.

They sit seventh in Italy’s second league, having achieved promotion last season, and club president Andrea Langella said Brera’s involvement “should bring not only additional financial resources and support, but also better awareness of our brand and our team, as well as human capital. and players’ journeys between Brera teams on three continents.

“Juve Stabia shares Brera’s social impact mission and will expand its presence in the greater Naples area, starting with Castellammare di Stabia,” adds Langella.

Brera looked at a number of Serie B clubs before agreeing to invest in Juve Stabia, with McClory calling them “an important club with an ideal partner” in president Langella.

The power of Pandev

Pandev is North Macedonia’s most decorated player. A Champions League winner with Inter in 2010, he joined the club aged 18 and, apart from a brief spell at Galatasaray, has spent his career in Italy.

“Goran changed the entire landscape of North Macedonia,” says Xing. “He could do anything with his post-playing career, but instead he chose to go back and start an infrastructure to provide for people and children who wouldn’t have had the opportunities when he was a child. It’s so powerful.”

Pandev founded the club in the city where he was born in 2010, the year he won the treble with Inter. They quickly rose to the elite and flirted with Europe.

Brera acquired 90% in May 2023, with Pandev remaining chairman, but their presence also attracted the attention of a local women’s team, who reached out and were taken under their wing as Brera Tiverija.

“We thought it was a very good opportunity and there is no other foreign investment in women’s football in the Balkans,” says Xing. “It’s a really good way to support a marginalized group and it’s something I personally believe in.”

So, after making his biggest acquisition yet in Serie B, where does Brera plan to go next?

“There’s nothing like it in the multi-club space,” says Xing. “We like clubs that are deeply rooted in the community and already making a social impact. That’s something that, because it’s been in our fabric for so long, we want to continue.”

For Gardner, who loves Brera’s Italian roots, there are no limits.

“Think of all the big brands coming from Italy,” he beams. “Ferragamo, Gucci, Armani, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati – I don’t need to say another word, do I? All these people had visions. They were determined to build their own table.

“We have a dream, we have a vision, but more importantly, we have a plan.”