Ralph Hasenhuttl
SAINTS CEO Martin Semmens has explained how a multi-club network could work under Sport Republic and admitted: “We are aware of potential clubs that might come into the mix, but it’s way too early to talk about that.” The plans under Sport Republic, which is an entirely independent investment firm that have purchased Saints, suggest that the St Mary’s outfit could become a centre-piece of a group of football clubs across the world. The ideas are reminiscent of something similar to what Red Bull have achieved, who have successful football clubs based in Leipzig, Salzburg, New York and Sao Paulo. Semmens explains how the takeover could benefit Saints,
Martin Semmens said: “What they will bring to us is proprietary technology, data and systems that make us better. They will help us build better scouting and player trading, collaboration and models, but I think more importantly than anything, they believe in the player pathway as we do and a multi-club model allows us to take that forward to a new level.What that means is, if you build a network of clubs and you build the best people and the best data, and the best insight, it gives you that minor advantage that we can gain without spending huge amounts of money. I think together we see an opportunity to build a set of clubs that play in the same way from the same playbook. To have academies that are similar and develop players in the same way, produce young men and young women to a level that we think fits our level and helps us with that pathway. So, the other clubs, it’s early in its development this project. We are aware of potential other clubs that might come into the mix, but it’s way too early to talk about that. But the structure would be they will sit within Sport Republic and we will collaborate with them. But the ownership sits at Sport Republic level.”
The production line of Red Bull’s footballing talent speaks for itself, and it’s a list that many Saints fans will be familiar with one way or another. Sadio Mane, Erling Haaland, Joshua Kimmich, Timo Werner, Takumi Minamino to name but a few. However, all the talk of multi-club networks and stuff that sounds reminiscent of football franchising can be daunting, so Semmens was keen to stress that Saints’ board operate unchanged – Sport Republic merely exist as external owners and collaborators.
Martin Semmens insisted: “First and foremost, all operations are unchanged as they were yesterday. They are today and the leadership in the operations here at the same. And then I think the second thing to stress is Sport Republic is a business that will build a network of clubs. Those gentlemen you mentioned, Dragan (Solak), Henrik (Kraft) and Rasmus (Ankersen) will run that business and they will work with us and support our club and we will work to help and support Sport Republic, but they don’t have active roles in the club. If you want to go one level more technical than that, we have an ownership group and ownership board that Henrik and Rasmus will sit on alongside Katharina (Liebherr), myself and Toby (Steele). We will take care of the club’s management at that highest level at that point, but the board of the football club as it stands today is the same.”
