The 75M to EagleFootball from Iconic for the Lyon acquisition and the consequent SPAC attachment

US SEC Statement of acquisition of beneficial ownership filed by Iconic in re Lyon/EF: [Link]

Item 4. Purpose of Transaction.

On December 19, 2022, Eagle Football Holdings Limited (“Eagle Football”), a London-based group with interests in English Premier League club, Crystal Palace, Brazilian Serie A club, Botafogo, and Belgian First Division B club, RWD Molenbeek, acquired a significant controlling stake in French Ligue 1 club, Olympique Lyonnais. In connection with such acquisition, an affiliate of the Reporting Person made a strategic $75 million equity investment in Eagle Football and entered into agreements with various parties including Eagle Football. Such agreements provide that the Issuer may enter into a business combination with Eagle Football for a valuation of approximately $1.2 billion. The Issuer is not a party to any of these agreements. There is no assurance that an agreement with respect to such transaction will be entered into, and even if entered into, that a transaction contemplated thereby would be consummated. Any such transaction would be subject to, among other things, (i) additional financing on acceptable terms; (ii) the approval of the board of the Issuer; (iii) the separate approval of the Issuer’s shareholders; (iv) the ability to satisfy the requirements of the SEC for the offering of securities and the solicitation of votes; (v) any regulatory approvals; and (vi) the satisfaction of continued stock exchange listing requirements.

Textor is currently getting a mauling on Twitter from Botafogo fans over the loaning of their player Jeffinho to Lyon...

Old, Ungifted and White

Exactly. If your club is top of the pyramid you might do well out of it but as Botafogo fans are starting to wonder is there job to feed his other clubs.

One more point

I think it's clear we are behind Lyon.

One more point

How to sort that?

Freedman v Textor

Sainsbury's Car Park

Tickets £15 or £12.50 in advance

A stairway to Heaven and a Highway to Hell give some indication of expected traffic numbers

PL sides are feeder clubs to everyone, and that's no bad thing. A tiny minority of players from any academy end up in the PL, but if you don't develop them then you deprive them of their careers, if not at your club then elsewhere in the game. Thus, PL academies really exist to prepare youngsters for careers in football and that's a valuable thing. It doesn't have to be at the PL club, though it's great when it is.

We are already a feeder club. We have Philips and Street at Shrewsbury. Gordon at Carlisle. Ebiowei at Hull. Rak Sakyi at Charlton. Plange at Lincoln. O'Brien off somewhere today. At best, one of those may have a career at Palace but all will likely have a career of some sort in football as a result our developing them. Who cares if they're scattered around the lower divisions or playing for one of Textor's clubs; it's the same difference.

PL clubs are a selfish, self-interested group motivated by very little other than money. Developing young players in world-class academies is one of the very few things PL clubs do that actually benefits the game itself. Anyone who thinks developing young players isn't worthwhile unless it directly helps the parent club all of the time is very myopic indeed.

Sydenham by birth. Selhurst by the Grace of God.