According to a report by Deloitte, North American investors accounted for 55% of all sport investment activity by volume in 2024.

English soccer's top-flight Premier League is no stranger to American ownership, with the Glazers’ acquisition of Manchester United in 2005 creating a ripple effect over the next 20 years. Of the league’s 20 clubs, nine are currently solely or majority-owned by individuals or entities from the US. 

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However, with valuations of Premier League clubs continually rising, American investors are now eyeing up teams further down the English soccer structure.

Unlike major US sports leagues like the NBA, NFL, MLB, and MLS, investing in an EFL club is comparatively affordable. Valuations range from £5 million ($6.7 million) in League Two to £250 million in the Championship. 

The most recent deals have seen third-tier League One clubs Leyton Orient and Reading acquired by American groups, bringing the number of US owners in the EFL, part or wholly, to exactly half (36 of 72 clubs).

Why has interest soared?

“Investors will look at the lower leagues over a Premier League or top division club elsewhere because the rising valuations have priced many out, or made their appetite at that level more limited,” Theo Ajadi, assistant director in the Deloitte Sports Business Group, tells Sportcal.

“The opportunities lower down the pyramid provide a lower entry cost point, and obviously, the potential Cinderella story of rising through the divisions, which can lead to being able to share in that valuation growth over time. The flip side of that is, at this level, you can often have clubs that are loss-making to a significant extent compared to the equity investment you might have to put in at that level, which would require an ongoing commitment.

“So, over a period, if you don't realize player trading income or an increase in sporting performance, it can be quite costly for investors, which is sometimes why you see much higher turnover in these divisions as investors come in and out.”

The appeal of acquiring an EFL side has certainly been boosted by the recent successes of Wrexham and, to an extent, Birmingham City.

Having taken over Wrexham in 2021 with the club in the non-league, actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have enjoyed huge success, with the Welsh outfit securing their third successive promotion this season to return to the Championship – becoming the first club in the history of England's top five divisions to achieve three consecutive promotions.

The latest promotion to the Championship could increase Wrexham's value to £150 million, according to soccer finance expert Kieran Maguire. That would represent a valuation increase of 7,400% since Reynolds and McElhenney bought the team for around £2 million.

Birmingham have also been under American ownership since 2023 when Shelby Companies purchased a controlling stake. After relegation from the Championship to League One in their first season in charge last year, the Midlands side have secured an immediate return to the English second-tier following significant backing from the owners.

The long-term goal for these ownership groups is to take a club up through the lower divisions and into the Premier League, to benefit from the riches on offer in the biggest league in the world.

This was recently achieved by Ipswich Town, which made their return to the promised land last season after a 22-year absence. Gamechanger 20, a joint venture between an Arizona pension fund and a small group of sports investors, bought the club for £30 million in 2021 when the team was in League One and led them to back-to-back promotions, becoming the fifth team to do so, at the end of the 2023–2024 season to rejoin the Premier League’s elite.

In early 2024, US private equity firm, Bright Path Sports, acquired 40% of the team for £105 million, representing a major increase in value. Although the club have already suffered relegation back to the second tier, their one year in the top-flight will earn the side more than £100 million in broadcast rights revenue. 

Promotion and relegation isn’t a concept adopted in US sports, therefore, the prospect of acquiring a club in the lower leagues for smaller sums and climbing up the divisions to reach the Premier League is an intriguing proposition for American investors, albeit with associated risks. 

“It can be an attraction,” Ajadi explains. “But it's also, at times, something that scares US investors away, particularly your more sophisticated or institutional capital. They’re used to acquiring assets with no relegation risk, which gives you more security around revenue generation from year to year.

“Often, some of these US investors will see that and it’s been a key risk factor, and probably the single most important consideration, particularly if you're buying a club more towards the top tiers.

“Investors need to consider the business plan, both in the optimistic case, and also make sure that they are aware of their responsibilities. We've all seen examples where teams have been relegated, and that ownership funding becomes a bit more strained. But it does provide that Cinderella story and can be quite attractive.

“Taking a team from League Two to the Championship may be attractive in terms of generating revenue, but the cost base in these higher divisions can also be significant, except in the Premier League, where the clubs are more sustainable, and the profitability is there. It can be both ways. We've seen clubs go up the divisions, and losses have arisen as they've done so. It's not just a case of getting promoted, it needs to be done sustainably.”

In the EFL’s view, the storytelling element also plays a crucial role.

“In the US, they've got a different model to us, whereas we've got promotion and relegation, and then the playoffs, and I think all of that appeals to that market,” says EFL chief commercial officer Ben Wright.

“But it's linked to the authenticity and storytelling. We've got some good examples of the storytelling where the clubs have gone and trailblazed some of that work, and you've got to praise Wrexham for what they've done. It tells a story in a different way than has been done before, and that has undeniably opened doors for other clubs and us.”

For most new owners of EFL clubs, the Premier League is the holy grail, and this can often lead to risky financial decisions in the hope of fast-tracking a team’s rise from the lower leagues.

There are several examples of mistakes to avoid, which is why a club like Portsmouth, for instance, are happy to play the long game.

After being taken over by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner in 2017 following years of financial turmoil and bad ownership, the South Coast club have reached a period of stability, having worked their way back up into the Championship.

Following years of mismanagement, the Portsmouth ownership sees stability as the key to achieving a return on their investment and fulfilling long-term goals.

“The number one priority for us is to stabilize the club in the Championship,” CEO Andrew Cullen explains. “Everybody wants instant success and the gratification of achieving the ultimate goal of Premier League football. But we must do it sensibly. The most important thing is to have a considered football strategy.”   

EFL internationalization

The growing interest in EFL teams also ties in with the league’s steady international growth in recent years.  

The influx of US investors has undoubtedly raised the profile of the EFL in a key target market and has had a positive impact in furthering its reach and appeal.

“Our clubs are becoming an attractive proposition to a broader group of fans, as well as investors and owners,” Wright explains. “It would probably have been unthinkable a few years ago to get to a place where 40% of our clubs were US-owned.

“The combination of quality and jeopardy of the competitions, the competitive nature, storytelling from an EFL perspective, and the authenticity of it, mapped with international growth and a market where more buyers are coming from, all create an outcome that is positive overall for us. It's not something we necessarily foresaw to that degree, but it's had a positive outcome.”

For many sports organisations, the US is a strategic growth market with several major soccer competitions set to take place in the country over the next 12 months. The US will stage the revamped FIFA Club World Cup competition in June and July before co-hosting the showpiece FIFA World Cup with Canada and Mexico next year.

Soccer has grown significantly in the territory in recent years, creating opportunities for sports properties, like the EFL, to capitalise. Wright says the EFL has “a clear strategy” on how to approach the market.

This approach includes a partnership with US-based agency Relevent Sports, which initially partnered with the EFL on media rights sales, but that relationship has since been amplified.

The tie-up with Relevent marked a shift for the EFL, as it previously used one agency (Pitch International) for rights sales in all global markets but carved out a separate deal with Relevent for the US.

The move has already had instant results, with major US network CBS Sports securing EFL rights in a long-term deal. But as the EFL’s commercial head, Wright understands the need to adapt to a changing landscape to attract a younger audience.

“The US is a very competitive marketplace despite its size; this is going to take time,” Wright stresses. “We're in a good place and we've done well with our output and revenue, and so have the likes of Wrexham. But fundamentally, this is about a growth journey and how we can work hard in that market to target fans and grow our product. 

“Broadcast markets are changing, so in terms of approaching the US market, we must be agile. We probably need to be a bit different from what we are in the UK, and that's why we're doing lots of content creator stuff with Relevant that's targeted specifically at social and younger fans. We must go after younger fans and capitalize on that opportunity and make them fans of the EFL, and we've got to be agile in the way we do that.”

The CBS deal has proven to be significant for the EFL in more ways than one, with the company serving as a marketing partner of the league as well as its domestic rightsholder.

Last July, CBS Sports secured an exclusive, four-year, multi-platform rights agreement that started in the 2024-25 season, allowing it to offer the widest distribution of EFL matches ever in the US.

The network has the rights to broadcast a minimum of 250 EFL matches per season across the Championship, League One, League Two, Carabao Cup, and Bristol Street Motors Trophy, through the end of the 2027-28 season.

In addition to broadcasting live matches, the CBS Sports Golazo Network provides EFL analysis and commentary throughout its live studio programming, while the network also provides additional editorial coverage of EFL competitions on its digital and social accounts.

“Our deal with CBS and Paramount is game-changing compared to where we were previously, with no disrespect to previous partners,” Wright says.

“The reason for that is twofold. The volume of matches – they're taking at least 10 of our games a weekend and putting a decent chunk of those out on the CBS Sports Network – and then it's additionally back to the storytelling point. They're putting a full studio around a lot of our matches.

“Previously, on most of our international output, we haven’t had that program in support live around that. Overseas, some of our broadcast partners do that, like Viaplay and BeIN Sports, but most just take the feed, because they've got lots of other stuff coming in from the rest of the world. CBS has taken that output to a new level.”

Wrexham have certainly benefited commercially through their US ties, securing partnerships with multiple brands such as Ally Financial and United Airlines.

The EFL hopes its increased exposure in the territory will lead to an uptick in commercial revenue.

“It's a big commercial market, so hopefully we'll see some of that exposure and output transforming into, alongside media dollars, partnership revenue, etc, either direct to us or to the clubs,” Wright says.

“Some of the brands that are involved in Wrexham or Birmingham are US-based brands, so it's about figuring out how to get that wheel of exposure, output, and growing funds, back round to commercialization. We've made big strides in the last 12 to 18 months with some of the stuff we've put in place, but that's going to need to bed in, then be built on and developed.”

Case study: Portsmouth

Eisner is approaching nearly eight years as owner of Portsmouth, so he was a relatively early entrant as a US owner in the lower leagues.

The club was desperate for an owner who could stabilise things after enduring financial difficulties for several years from 2009 onwards, which included the team going into administration twice in 2010 and 2012.

Through his roles at Disney and Paramount, Eisner had experience in turning companies around. Since taking over Portsmouth, he’s invested around £50 million (all in equity, no debt or loans) into the club and £20 million into Fratton Park stadium and oversaw promotion to the Championship in the 2023-24 season as League One champions.

This backing and stable structure helped the team finish 16th last season and maintain their status in the league for next year. With Portsmouth now competing in a league where it can generate larger revenue, the club’s ownership can now work to secure a return on investment and additionally work to grow the team’s brand in the US.

“We've got increased broadcasting revenue coming in and this new opportunity in the US market, which the EFL is keen to promote with CBS, who have proven to be a great partner,” Cullen outlines.

“We went to New York for a conference and workshop in April and were able to get a complete insight into the opportunities in terms of growing Portsmouth over there, which we hope will enable us to find some new revenues, particularly in digital, and enhance our profile through broadcasting and digital.

“There's a whole range of different things that we might continue to look at, and we can draw on a lot of Michael's expertise in that area as well to support us.”

Through the EFL, Portmosuth is also keen to tap into that relationship with CBS and Relevent to make a mark in the US.

“We've seen a revolution in terms of the content that's coming out on Paramount and CBS this year through Relevent,” Cullen adds. “The workshop in New York was very helpful in getting some insight into the demographics of the viewership in the US. It’s a very young market.

“We can look at how to create and differentiate some portion of content, working with CBS and Paramount. That's another area that we want to work closely with CBS, Paramount, and the EFL on in terms of using that to clubs’ advantage, as nearly 40% of EFL clubs have a US owner or major investor. It is increasingly becoming an incredibly important market.”

Wrexham have cracked the code and could prove to be instrumental in opening up the world’s biggest market to their fellow EFL clubs.

However, Portsmouth are keen to not simply replicate the Wrexham model, but create their own growth path.

“You've got to be careful that you don't necessarily repeat that, because you might get into audience fatigue,” Cullen explains. “It's about looking at how we position that differently, maybe through social media channels, just to add a point of difference.

“We've got a couple of ideas at the moment that are floating, which, if we can make them work, and we can get the eyeballs on them, would be hugely beneficial to the football club.”