São Paulo – The purchase of the football anonymous society (SAF) of the Bahia Esporte Clube by the City Football Group (CFG) is expected to draw investments, strengthen squads at every level in men’s and women’s teams, and take Bahia to the top of Brazil’s major championships. The CFG, whose flagship football club is Manchester City, belongs to Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates.
Before signing the agreement, Bahia adhered to the Law Lei 14.193 of 2021 that introduced the legal status of SAF. The law allows for a club to “separate” and sell its football department to investors in order to develop both women’s and men’s youth and professional sports.
CFG and Bahia said in a statement that their priorities include strengthening squads at every level, bringing the CFG’s expertise and technology to Bahia, investing in youth football to develop future talent, achieving financial sustainability, and making the First Team consistently rank among the top clubs in Série A and qualify for continental competitions. CFG now holds 90% of Bahia SAF, with 10% continuing to be held by Esporte Clube Bahia. The sale was approved by the Board of Directors and shareholders of Bahia on May 4.
“We now begin a journey as partners to help the club reach its full potential while staying true to its community, roots, members and the energy that makes Bahia’s and Brazil’s football some of the most exciting in the world,” CFG CEO Ferran Soriano was quoted as saying in a statement sent to ANBA. “We move forward with the support and energy of our millions of fans and members, who overwhelmingly approved our historic club joining the CFG family through Bahia SAF,” Bahia president Guilherme Bellintani was quoted as saying.
Manchester City is the flagship football club of CFG. The English club was founded in 1880 and is controlled by Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan since 2008, first through the Abu Dhabi United Group, and through Newton Investment and Development LLC, an Abu-Dhabi based company belonging to Nahyan. Private equity firm Sliver Lake is a minority shareholder of City.
Besides the English club and Bahia, CFG also owns shares of New York City FC (United States), Melbourne FC (Australia), Yokohama F. Marinos (Japan), Montevideo City Torque (Uruguay), Girona Futbol Club (Spain), Sichuan Jiuniu FC (China), Mumbai City FC (India), Lommel SK (Belgium), ESTAC (France), Palermo FC (Italy), and Club Bolívar (Bolivia).
Other Brazilian football clubs created SAF, too, including Cuiabá, Red Bull Bragantino, Cruzeiro, Botafogo, Vasco, and Coritiba. The amounts the clubs receive via SAF also encompass the purchase of players and investments in infrastructure and may vary according to the performance on the fields as per contract. As of Monday (12) Bahia ranked 15th in the Campeonato Brasileiro and had qualified for the quarterfinals of Copa do Brasil.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
