ISL 2019-20: Manchester City's parent company buys majority stake in Mumbai City FC

Mumbai: Premier League champions Manchester City’s parent company City Football Group on Thursday bought a majority 65 percent stake in Indian Super League (ISL) franchise Mumbai City FC. This was announced at a press conference by Nita Ambani, the founder and chairperson of Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) and Reliance Foundation.

“Today we welcome a global football powerhouse to India, to Indian Super League and Indian football. I am delighted and proud to announce that the City Football Group has acquired a majority stake in Mumbai City FC,” said Ambani. “For the first time ever, a European club will be acquiring a majority stake in an Indian club.” “I wish the team (Mumbai City FC) all the very best as they usher into this new era of Indian football. I want to thank City football group for their belief in Indian football. I look forward to the coming years with great excitement as a fan, believer, and supporter of Indian football,” Ambani said as she made the landmark announcement.

CFG will become the 65 percent majority stakeholder of the club, while existing shareholders — actor Ranbir Kapoor and Bimal Parekh — will keep the remaining 35 percent. The Premier League club also tweeted that CFG was delighted to welcome the Indian club to its “family of clubs.”

“City Football Group (CFG) has agreed on a deal to acquire a majority stake in its eighth club, Mumbai City FC in the Indian Super League, marking a major move into Indian football,” the group said in a statement. “The deal will see Mumbai City FC benefit from the Group’s commercial and football know-how, whilst at the same time delivering a new and exciting element to the CFG global commercial platform,” a statement from the City Football Group and FSDL read. Other clubs in the CFG stable include New York City, Melbourne City, Yokohama F Marinos in Japan and Girona FC in Spain.