Turkish media mogul Acun Ilıcalı, the owner of the global media company ACUNMEDYA, was confirmed on Friday as the new majority shareholder in Shelbourne Football Club.
Ilıcalı has founded one of the biggest world’s biggest independent media and entertainment companies with two TV stations in his native Turkey and broadcasting contracts in place from the USA and Mexico to Greece and Bulgaria.
This investment will be used to support the growth and development of the club by investing in the men’s and women’s first teams, the academy, and its facilities with an ambition to make Shelbourne FC Ireland’s most successful football club.
There are also expected to be closer ties with Hull City, the English Championship club he bought in 2022.
Existing shareholders will continue to be investors in the Club and welcomed the new investment. Ilıcalı will become the new Chairman with previous majority stakeholder Andrew Doyle becoming the Vice Chair.
“I am deeply impressed by the passion and motivation of the Shelbourne FC family and we believe that the club offers great potential to succeed in European football,” said Ilıcalı.
“Our vision for Shelbourne FC is to become the leader of the League of Ireland and demonstrate consistent success in European competitions. We believe that our investment and commitment will shape the future of the football in our academy, which will become the most modern academy structure in Ireland.”
“We want to scout, recruit and train talented prospects from all over Ireland and Europe to be part of our family. With our global expertise and vision in football, media and entertainment verticals, we aim to bring new energy to Irish football and Shelbourne FC, one of the oldest clubs in Ireland, by further strengthening the deep-rooted bond between the fans and the club, like we did in Hull City.”
“This is a transformational deal for Shelbourne Football Club and a huge boost to our ambitions to make Shelbourne Ireland’s most successful football club both domestically and in Europe,” added Doyle.
“The investment will give us the resources to make significant investment in club facilities, the men’s and women’s senior teams and the academy. This partnership will help us finalise ongoing projects and seize many other opportunities that will benefit our senior teams, academy and facilities.”
“There will be huge opportunities to leverage the synergies with the management expertise and resources of ACUNMEDYA , Shelbourne and Hull City in ways that can be very significant for everyone involved.”
Sport for Business Perspective:
Acun Ilıcalı joins Dermot Desmond and Philip O’Doherty in the Billionaire’s club that now controls three of the ten teams in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division, (and two in the Women’s) Dermot Usher at Cork City’s value is not quite at the level but can be added as a fourth meg-wealthy owner in the League.
It is the trend in football across Europe and the world but it still feels strange to be the case. It’s up there with the Premier League in England as a percentage of the clubs being owned by individuals with such firepower at their disposal.
Any degree of success in Europe ironically makes it a shrewd financial investment but there are certainly easier ways to make money work harder so an element is down to the continual allure of success in sport.
Between these individuals, they could pick up the ‘Football Family’ element (€173 million) of the ambitious FAI plan to transform Irish football facilities over the next 15 years. That would be many times a multiple of what they have put into their own clubs though and without the fun or the glory.
It will be fascinating to watch as they battle for domestic success against the fan-owned Bohemians, the University-based UCD and the other clubs that make up the tapestry of the League of Ireland.
On the weekend that Sheikh Mansour watched Manchester City sweep all before them, it was a timely reminder that money can buy success. Now we will see will that be the case in Ireland.
