Hardball (company)

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Hardball is a Norwegian investment company founded in 2004 to finance player transfers for the association football team Brann from Bergen, Norway. Former news editor at Norwegian TV 2 and managing director of software company Vizrt, Bjarne Berg, fronted Hardball and was one of several members of the investors group until his death in 2010.

Eivind Kåre Lunde is the company's Managing Director.

When a Hardball financed player is sold, Hardball is to have their investment back after expenses are withdrawn. Any profits are to be divided 50-50 between Hardball and Brann. Hardball has no ownership in Brann, and the power to sell or trade players stays with the club.

The investors are predominantly local businessmen from Bergen and are known Brann supporters, and have expressed desire to help Brann becoming a top class team. According to Bjarne Berg, the company's long-term goal is to make itself redundant without losing money in the process. [1]

The company has partially or fully financed the following player transfers:

Note! All transfer fees are approximates.

Bought fromDateTransfer fee (NOK)PlayerTransfer fee (NOK)DateSold to
Bryne December 20032.200.000 Ragnvald Soma 6.000.000March 2006 Viking
Northern Spirit February 2004750.000 Dylan Macallister 750.000March 2006 Lyn
Salzburg August 20045.000.000 Paul Scharner 32.000.000January 2005 Wigan Athletic
Stabæk December 200410.000.000 Martin Andresen Free transferNovember 2007 Vålerenga
KR Reykjavik December 20041.000.000 Kristján Örn Sigurðsson Free transferJanuary 2010 Hønefoss
Ham-Kam November 200510.000.000 Petter Vaagan Moen Free TransferJanuary 2011 Queens Park Rangers
FH Hafnarfjarðar August 20062.000.000 Ármann Smári Björnsson Free transferAugust 2009 Hartlepool United
Vålerenga August 20067.000.000 Ardian Gashi 6.000.000July 2007 Fredrikstad
Leeds August 20065.000.000 (sign on fee) Eirik Bakke Free transferJanuary 2011 Sogndal Fotball
Rosenborg March 20076.000.000 Jan Gunnar Solli Free transferJanuary 2011 New York Red Bulls
Løv-Ham July 20072.500.000 Knut Walde Contract expiredJanuary 2010-
Elfsborg July 20072.500.000 Joakim Sjöhage UndisclosedNovember 2008 Trelleborg
Free transferJuly 2007Unknown (sign on fee) Hassan El Fakiri ---
Benfica August 20073.000.000 Azar Karadas 2.000.000September 2009 Kasımpaşa

Investors of Hardball: [2]

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References

  1. ↑ Mads Kvernen Kleppe (2007). "Brukte 17 millioner på Brann-spillere" (in Norwegian). abcnyheter.no. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
  2. ↑ «Gutteklubb» vil kjøpe gullet Archived 2007-11-05 at the Wayback Machine , Nettavisen, September 8, 2006(in Norwegian)
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