Los Angeles FC buys majority stake in storied Swiss club Grasshopper in latest soccer investment
GENEVA (AP) — MLS franchise Los Angeles FC took over storied Swiss club Grasshopper on Wednesday by buying a majority stake from its Chinese owner Jenny Wang.
The deal was announced at a news conference in Zurich as 27-time Swiss champion Grasshopper became the latest American-backed club in European soccer. This takeover involves a club that was founded in 1886 being bought by one created in 2014.
“We are truly honored and humbled to be here,” said LAFC co-president Larry Freedman, who will join the Grasshopper board with another LAFC executive, Stacy Johns. “We are here to be part of the community.”
Johns, a former Indianapolis Colts executive, will become Grasshopper's interim president. She declined to reveal the price paid for the Swiss club, which has fallen far from its former glory. Its last Swiss league title was in 2003 and the team was playing in the second tier three years ago.
LAFC adds Grasshopper to European investments that include Austrian club Wacker Innsbruck. The 2022 MLS Cup champion also has business projects with Bayern Munich, owning a club in Uruguay and a youth academy in Gambia, Freedman said.
The deal ends Grasshopper's ties to Premier League club Wolverhampton, which is owned by Wang’s billionaire husband Guo Guangchang.
The Wolverhampton connection had limited results and the Premier League club last year sent one of its officials, former Everton defender Matt Jackson, to be Grasshopper president preparing for an expected sale.
Grasshopper is currently eighth in the 12-team Swiss top division and does not own the stadium it shares with city rival Zurich — the Letzigrund arena that also is one of the most historic venues in track and field.
A new stadium project has stalled for almost 20 years since before Grasshopper left its former stadium, Hardturm, in 2007. The club wants to return to Hardturm.
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