Entrepreneurs Guilherme Decca and André Ikeda bought Wakefield AFC, a club from the 11th English division.
The newly acquired team is based in the West Yorkshire district near Leeds in Wakefield. With 350,000 inhabitants, it is the largest city in the country that does not have a professional team in the English Football League – the first four national divisions.
“The analytics department is just the first step. In the coming months, we want to add more UEFA licensed trainers, invest in our own training center, in fitness, nutrition and tracking technology,” commented Decca, founder of boutique family office VO2 Capital together with Ikeda.
“In short, we want to be a destination for young and promising players who have been laid off by professional academies to advance their careers. We are also going to open the doors of the football market to passionate investors, showing that it is possible for everything to happen in synergy and with purpose, and not just for profit or visibility”, he added.
???? Love a weekend win!
???? A big shout out to @YorkSportMedia for putting this highlights package together ????
We are back in action on Wednesday night as we welcome North Gawber Colliery to The Millennium Stadium, 7:45pm KO!
???? Grab your tickets here: https://t.co/S5yaY6kNqp pic.twitter.com/14bUvbJNnz
— Wakefield AFC (@Wakefield_AFC) November 8, 2021
Wakefield’s new members aim to achieve professionalism within fifteen years so the club can support itself. Since the purchase, the team’s revenue has risen by more than three times and there has been a reformulation of 50% of the cast for the next season.
Decca and Ikeda made a deal with the previous owners of Wakefield AFC and left 15% of the shares with the fans. The club, which has a stadium with 7,000 seats, will bet on a strong base category, sponsorship, incentives for the women’s team and production of content on social networks.
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