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Aston Villa agree deal to sell women's team to owner V Sports

Aston Villa agree deal to sell women's team to owner V Sports

New York Times30-06-2025
Aston Villa have agreed a deal to sell their women's team to V Sports and a stake in the operation to prominent U.S.-based investors.
Villa say they have no issues regarding the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) and are having positive discussions with UEFA about a resolution in relation to compliance with its financial fair play (FFP) regulations.
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V Sports is the parent company which owns Villa and was previously founded as NWSE, before being rebranded in 2021. It is jointly owned by American billionaire Wes Edens and Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris, the latter of whom is Villa chairman.
V Sports also owns a 29 per cent stake in Portuguese side Vitoria S.C. and a 25 per cent stake in Spanish side Real Union. It holds partnership agreements with Egyptian Premier League club ZED FC and Vissel Kobe of the J1 League.
The Athletic reported last week that Villa were exploring the option of selling their women's team to help with PSR compliance. One source, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, said Villa have been looking into a sale for the past 18 months, having recorded losses of £195million ($267) over the past two years — leaving them in danger of breaching PSR.
Villa's move mirrors one which fellow Premier League side Chelsea made in June 2024, when their women's team was sold to BlueCo, the company which owns the west London club, for £200m. In May, Chelsea sold an eight per cent stake in the women's team to Alexis Ohanian, founder of Reddit and husband of tennis star Serena Williams. That stake put the total value of the team at approximately £245m.
Villa finished sixth in the Women's Super League (WSL) last season and have played in the English top flight since 2020-21. The men's team also finished sixth in 2024-25 and will play in the Europa League next term as a result.
Villa reported a loss of £85.4mi for the 2023-24 season following a loss of £119.6m for 2022-23. They turned a profit of £300,000 in 2021-22 but a combined loss of more than £105mi over three seasons would constitute a PSR breach, although spending on infrastructure, youth and women's football is exempt.
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Contacts for further information Media: Ambre James-Brown +45 3079 9289abmo@ Liz Skrbkova (US)+1 609 917 0632lzsk@ Investors: Jacob Martin Wiborg Rode+45 3075 5956jrde@ Sina Meyer +45 3079 6656azey@ Max Ung+45 3077 6414 mxun@ Frederik Taylor Pitter +1 609 613 0568fptr@ Publication of inside information pursuant to Market Abuse Regulation, Article 17 Company announcement No 19 / 2025 Attachment CA250729-CEO-succession

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