English club boosts transfer power by selling shares to fans

Championship side Watford is taking a bold approach by selling shares of the club to fans to quickly raise the club’s transfer budget. Watford has been stuck in neutral for the last two years after suffering relegation from the Premier League. In 2022/23 Watford finished 11th in the Championship. This past season, it fell to 15th, only six points above Birmingham City, which went down.

Part of the reason for Watford’s recent struggles is a lack of spending in the transfer market. Upon dropping down from the Premier League in the summer of 2022, Watford sold eight players on permanent deals. That included Hassane Kamara, Emmanuel Dennis and Cucho Hernandez, with the latter going to Major League Soccer. Watford did not make any splash signings, with the most expensive of the arrivals being Ismael Kone from Montreal.

One year later, it was the same story. Mid-table Watford spent just $5 million on transfers, while it sold a total of $60 million worth of players. That included the departures of Joao Pedro to Brighton for $37 million and Ismaila Sarr to Marseille for $15 million. Watford decided to hold onto that money instead of investing in more players. Watford remarkably had a goal differential of zero, which was far better than the teams around it in the table. Yet, the issues remained with an undermanned lineup to compete for promotion to the top flight.

Now, the Watford ownership group is looking for quick monetary success. Selling shares to fans raises funds, and it does so in a way that does not harm the future of the club. Watford is only making 10% of the club available, but it has a plan for how to use the money.

Watford shares give fans a piece of the club to help with funding

In an FAQ regarding the opening of shares in the club, Watford revealed where the new money would go.

“Capital raised from the sale will be used to fund initiatives that will improve the performance of the Club’s teams, particularly the men’s first…

Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/english-club-boosts-transfer-power-by-selling-shares-to-fans/

Author : Kyle Fansler

Publish date : 2024-06-04 20:04:57

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