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- Crux to examine teams in France, Sweden, Spain, Germany and the UK
- Michele Kang and Mercury 13 among those aiming to invest in several women’s teams
Crux Sports, a firm started by a former captain of the New Zealand women’s soccer team, is attempting to raise around US$50 million to acquire women’s teams in Europe, according to Bloomberg.
The firm reportedly plans to buy five women’s clubs, with teams in France, Sweden, Spain, Germany and the UK to be considered. Bloomberg notes it will aim to pay nominal prices for each outfit, and would take responsibility for their working capital.
Talks are said to be ongoing, with Crux pitching its ambitions to potential investors.
Crux was founded by Bex Smith, who competed at the Fifa Women’s World Cup and the Olympic Games for New Zealand as the national team’s skipper. In addition, she won several titles with German club VfL Wolfsburg, including the Uefa Women’s Champions League, the Frauen Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal Frauen. Smith also played for teams in Sweden, Australia and the US.
After ending her playing career, Smith went on to work for Fifa, taking a role in the governing body’s strategic planning for women’s soccer. She has also co-founded a production company and was the global executive director of women’s game at soccer media business Copa90, before founding Crux Sports.
Crux Sports becomes the latest firm seeking to make investments in multiple women’s soccer clubs. US businesswoman Michele Kang has established a multi-club ownership network, with her portfolio including the National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) Washington Spirit, newly promoted Women’s Super League (WSL) outfit London City Lionesses, and French giants Olympique Lyonnais Feminin.
Meanwhile, Mercury 13 has also set out its ambitions to create a multi-club network, starting Italy’s Como Women.
US firm Monarch Collective has also made minority investments in three NWSL teams, while private equity giant Sixth Street has launched its own multi-club women’s sports organisation.
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