Why are celebrities buying stakes in football clubs?

Some of the investors buying stakes in English football clubs are household names from backgrounds far from the sport itself When KSI announced he had purchased a 20% stake in Dagenham & Redbridge earlier this week, he became the latest in an increasingly long line of celebrities taking a financial interest in lower-league football clubs. Last month American rapper and Swansea City shareholder Snoop Dogg was well-received by fans at their Championship match against Preston while former NFL quarterback Tom Brady is part-owner of Birmingham City and Wrexham's attention-grabbing rise up the divisions under actor-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney could lead to promotion to the Premier League at the end of the season. Now KSI, a YouTuber, streamer and musician who has gone from uploading video game streams in his childhood bedroom to running a business empire including a drinks brand, production company and boxing promotion firm, is dreaming of taking the Daggers to the top flight too. "The idea of it just excites me so much," the 32-year-old said when announcing the move in a video which has earned tens of millions of views online. "I want the place to be pumping. I want it to be an event when people come here. I want do the unthinkable and get to the Premier League. "Everyone here is hard-working and I want to be the man who affects things on the pitch as well as off the pitch." A celebrity has now purchased shares in English clubs at a rate of one per year since 2020, excluding 2021. So why exactly are celebrities buying stakes in English football clubs, what is in it for the teams and what do the fans think? "The game is evolving and so are we," wrote Daggers chairman Anwar Uddin on social media after the news was announced. "Looking forward to writing the next chapter of our history together." For clubs like Dagenham, playing in the National League South after reaching as high as League One in the 2010-11 season, the appeal of celebrity investment is the powerful combination of enormous wealth and popularity. "The celebrities have the ability to move things into a totally new space, particularly in terms of making things go viral online," explains Dan Plumley, principal lecturer in sport finance at Sheffield Hallam University. "In our age of digital content, influencers' platforms are where kids are nowadays and they're following individuals as much as teams and brands. "There will be people interested in the celebrity, particularly the younger generation, who will begin taking an interest in a club they might have never even heard of before. "For the club it's about how they leverage that, including maybe doing some things for publicity that might not always be popular with everyone." Trends in football ownership often move in cycles, as has been the case with influxes of investment from sovereign states and American holding companies. And now it's celebrities coming in a quick flurry. For clubs looking for investment now, the potential advantage of becoming an early adopter of the celebrity model is not being left behind. "We see a ripple effect where one person does it and then others follow," Plumley says. "That does have the potential to expand further but there are only so many people with the money, will and reach to do this." How involved are celebrities in the running of their clubs? The potential for financial success on the celebrity investors' part is far less certain and the investment is often treated more like a hobby. "History tells us most investors in football clubs don't tend to make money and some English clubs are carrying huge losses," Plumley says. "It's more of a passion project thing for a lot of the celebrity investors, who have already made their money in their careers, with potential big returns only if their grand plans for the club come off. "The global appeal of football still holds for investors, even in the lower leagues, and English football is uniquely placed because of the amount of clubs there are. "The financial gap is huge between the leagues so it's a massive job to rise up from where Dagenham are - and then to keep going beyond that towards the Premier League would cost hundreds of millions of pounds. "For a celebrity to see a return on their investment will take a lot of time and needs proper sporting success too. If that doesn't happen, and happen quickly, then interest can really wane." The actor Will Ferrell, left, is an investor in MLS club LAFC while Drake owns shares in Serie B club Venezia While the positive transformation of some clubs' fortunes - particularly Wrexham - and the beneficial impact on the wider community has earned praise for some celebrity investors, in some instances fans have criticised rises through the divisions earned thanks to heavily increased budgets provided by celebrity benefactors as artificial and unearned. "It's exciting for people and sounds very positive," says Russell Elmes, chair of Dagenham & Redbridge Supporters Club. "There is always a bit of wondering what's going to happen because our last few different ownerships haven't quite worked out as we all hoped, so hopefully better and brighter things are ahead for us in the future this time around. "We want someone here for the long term who is going to make the club sustainable because it is going to take a long time to get back to where there fans want us to be. "What's important above all else is that we still have a football club to support week in, week out and don't lose our club like has happened elsewhere." KSI is now a judge on Britain's Got Talent alongside Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon 'Only one team tried to play' - Hurzeler criticises Arsenal 'I never point fingers' - Man City blink first in title race Honda engines risk nerve damage to drivers - Newey The 1994 figure skating scandal that shocked the world The rebellious story of the 1993 feud in darts Get up close and personal with Africa's magnificent felines Discover the history of the telephone on its 150th anniversary 'Only one team tried to play' - Hurzeler criticises Arsenal 'I never point fingers' - Man City blink first in title race Are big-game players keeping Celtic in title hunt? Watershed moment as Russia's sporting exile ends Carrick looks for 'lessons' after first Man Utd loss Ten-man Newcastle score late winner to beat Man Utd. 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