Eagle Football Holdings

Last updated
Eagle Football Holdings Limited
FormerlyEagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited
Company typePrivate
IndustryFootball
Founded28 September 2022;2 years ago (2022-09-28) in Delaware, US
Founder John Textor
HeadquartersLondon,
England
Area served
Brazil, Belgium, England, France
Key people
Michele Kang
Subsidiaries Eagle Football Group
Website finance.eaglefootballgroup.com

Eagle Football Holdings Limited (originally Eagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited [1] ) is a global football holding company based in London and Delaware. Established in 2022, the company is chaired by American businessman John Textor. [2] The group owns Botafogo, which competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A; Olympique Lyonnais, which competes in Ligue 1; and RWDM Brussels, which competes in the Challenger Pro League. [3] [4] Eagle Football previously held a minority stake in Crystal Palace F.C. of the Premier League, but sold its shares to Woody Johnson, co-owner of the New York Jets, in 2025. [5] [6]

Contents

History

In 2021, Textor tried expanding his business venture by trying to have major investments in English football clubs including Brentford FC, Watford FC and Newcastle United. [7] In August 2021, he succeeded with Crystal Palace F.C. with investment of £86million amounting to 40% ownership, [8] joining Steve Parish, Josh Harris, and David Blitzer as co-owner. [9] In January 2022, he signed a binding offer to purchase 90% ownership in Botafogo, a football club in Brazil. He then acquired 80% of RWDM Brussels in the same week. [10]

On 20 June 2022, Textor became the owner of Olympique Lyonnais by acquiring 40% of the OL Group shares, held by IDG Capital and Pathé, and the majority of shares previously held by Jean-Michel Aulas. [11] [12] Around that time, he established a holding company for his football clubs as Eagle Football Holdings that initially operated at Delaware, US. [13] The company was formally registered as Eagle Football Holdings Midco Limited in London on 28 September 2022, [14] [15] and eventually changed the named to Eagle Football Holdings Limited. [16] By December 2022, Textor had acquired a 77.49% stake in Olympique Lyonnais through his company. The reported total value of the deal was $940 million (€884 million). [17]

Crystal Palace and controversy

In the 2024–25 competitions, Crystal Palace achieved their first ever major trophy win, the FA Cup. [18] On 18 May 2025, they beat Manchester City in the 2025 FA Cup final, by a single goal from Eberechi Eze. [19] Winning the FA Cup makes them directly qualify for the UEFA Europa League competition in the next season. [20] However, the UEFA dictated that they were prohibited from the competition under the multi-club ownership rule. By then, Lyon had secured sixth position in the French Ligue 1 by which the qualified for the UEFA Europa League. [21] According to UEFA, different clubs under the same ownership cannot compete in the same competition, and announced on 11 July that Lyon will play in the Europa League, because of their higher league standings. [22] The decision also meant that Crystal Palace was demoted to the UEFA Conference League and that Nottingham Forest will take their place in Europa League. Crystal Palace was given a chance to reorganise their ownership structure and make an appeal. [23]

Textor tried to make amends by selling his entire share in the club. In June, Textor made a deal with Woody Johnson, owner of the NFL's New York Jets and former U.S. ambassador to the U.K. [24] He also resigned from leadership in Lyon and was replaced by Michele Kang as Chairwoman and CEO of Eagle Football Group that manages Lyon. [25] Johnson signed the legal documents for Crystal Palace on 23 June with a deal of about £190 million ($256.37 million). [26] On 24 July, the club announced that Johnson's purchase was complete. [27]

On 22 July, Crystal Palace submitted an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport claiming that Textor "didn't have decisive influence over the club." [28] The court announced its decision on 11 Augusts and stood by the UEFA's demotion to the Conference League. [29]

References

  1. "Eagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited". UK Companies House. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  2. "John Textor appointed chairman of Eagle Football Holdings". Bloomberg. December 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  3. "Eagle Football acquires Botafogo". ESPN. 13 March 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  4. "Textor's Eagle Football completes Lyon and RWDM acquisitions". Reuters. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  5. "Woody Johnson signs £190m deal to buy John Textor's shares in Crystal Palace". The Guardian. 23 June 2025. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  6. "New York Jets co-owner Johnson completes purchase of stake in Palace". Reuters. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  7. Kieran Maguire (July 16, 2021). "Maguire: Ashley 'convinced' by Premier League's 'green light to PiF' as rival Newcastle takeover bid rejected". www.footballinsider247.com. Football Insider. Retrieved August 11, 2021. American digital media tycoon has been looking to buy an English club for over a year and held a concrete interest in Newcastle.
  8. "Will U.S. owner John Textor's 'Botafogo Way' produce the Bayern Munich of Brazilian football?". ESPN.com. February 16, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  9. Jack Rosser (August 11, 2021). "Crystal Palace: American businessman John Textor buys stake in club". www.standard.co.uk. Evening Standard. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  10. Hellier, David. "The Florida financiers buying up Europe's football teams". Fin24. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  11. Dautel, Claude (June 20, 2022). "L'OL vendu à John Textor, l'homme qui vaut 3 milliards !". foot01.com.
  12. "Lyon's new U.S. majority shareholder John Textor seeks to end Paris Saint-Germain's dominance". ESPN. June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  13. "Eagle Football Holdings Portfolio Investments, Eagle Football Holdings Funds, Eagle Football Holdings Exits". www.cbinsights.com. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  14. "Eagle Football Holdings Midco Limited filing history". gov.uk. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  15. "Eagle Football Holdings Midco Limited - Company Profile - Endole". open.endole.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  16. "Eagle Football Holdings Limited: Overview". gov.uk. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  17. "US investor John Textor completes Lyon takeover". Financial Times. December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  18. Warren, Jess (2025-05-18). "Crystal Palace fans in ecstasy after FA Cup win over Manchester City". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  19. Aarons, Ed (2025-05-18). "Crystal Palace's FA Cup triumph left their fans in tears – I was among them". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  20. Johnston, Neil (2025-05-17). "Oliver Glasner: Crystal Palace boss dedicates FA Cup triumph to fans". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  21. "Ligue 1: Former Interim Coach Pierre Sage Aims for Longevity at Lyon" . Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  22. Battison, Paul (2025-07-11). "Crystal Palace: Uefa decision to demote club 'biggest injustice in the history of football' says Steve Parish". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  23. "Crystal Palace: Woody Johnson completes purchase of Eagle Football's shareholding in the club". BBC Sport. 2025-07-24. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  24. Brinkerhoff, Nick (23 June 2025). "Jets owner Woody Johnson buys stake in Premier League's Crystal Palace". USA Today . Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  25. "Michele Kang appointed as chairwoman and president of Olympique Lyonnais". www.ol.fr. 2025-06-30. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
  26. "New York Jets co-owner Johnson completes purchase of stake in Palace". Reuters. 2025-07-25. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  27. Drury, Sam (2025-07-24). "Crystal Palace: Woody Johnson completes purchase of Eagle Football's shareholding in the club". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  28. Mallows, Tom (2025-07-22). "Crystal Palace appeal to CAS against Europa League demotion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  29. "Palace lose Europa League demotion appeal". ESPN. 2025-08-11. Retrieved 2025-09-02.