A star-studded funding consortium has acquired Bogotá soccer workforce La Equidad.
The acquisition was partially financed by U.S. actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney who co-own the British soccer membership Wrexham.
The celebrities fashioned a part of the U.S.-based Tylis-Porter Group, which reportedly paid over USD $30 million for the workforce, which ranked thirteenth out of 20 within the 2024 Colombian league part.
Along with the A-list Wrexham FC house owners, the consortium additionally included stars reminiscent of Mexican-American actress Eva Longoria and U.S. mannequin Kate Upton.
The group is called after Al Tylis, an actual property investor, and Sam Porter, who was beforehand a soccer government on the Main League Soccer (MLS) workforce D.C. United in addition to Welsh aspect, Swansea Metropolis.
Reynolds and McElhenney’s buy of La Equidad makes it the third soccer workforce of their portfolio.
It’s not their first foray into Latin America’s soccer enterprise; in April 2024, the pair acquired a minority stake in Mexican workforce Necaxa.
The Tylis-Porter Group had beforehand purchased 50% of Necaxa in 2021 and offered a portion of the workforce to Reynolds and McElhenney who in flip offered the group a portion of Wrexham.
Reynolds and McElhenney made headlines in 2021 after they bought Wrexham FC, on the time a fifth division workforce, for USD $2.5 million.
Since buying the membership, the actors have leveraged their superstar standing to spice up its profile.
Notably, they produced a documentary sequence on the Disney+ streaming platform known as Welcome to Wrexham which follows their administration of the workforce and its gamers’ lives.
Varsity additionally reported in July 2024 that filming had begun on an analogous sequence titled Welcome to Necaxa that may function Reynolds, McElhenney and Longoria.
It stays unclear if the celebrities have comparable plans for La Equidad.
In a press release on social media, La Equidad celebrated the membership’s buy.
“It fills us with delight to announce that La Equidad Soccer Membership is starting a brand new stage,” the membership wrote.
It additionally stated that the sale has been authorized by the DIMAYOR, the group that oversees the most important soccer leagues in Colombia.
Talking to The Athletic, Porter advised that the consortium hopes to supervise enhancements within the membership’s standing.
“That is an unbelievable alternative to reinforce the membership’s development in each side and to grow to be an integral a part of Colombian soccer,” stated Porter.
This text was initially printed on The Bogotá Post.
