On the afternoon of Day 2 on the Global Stage, a panel was held focusing on investment in football through multi-club ownership models. The session, moderated by Lucas Ferrer, Partner at Statim Legal, featured contributions from Jan Kleiner, Director of Football Regulatory, FIFA, Lina Souloukoulu, CEO of Nottingham Forest FC and Marcos Motta, Partner, Bichara e Motta Attorneys at Law).

Jan Kleiner opened the discussion by outlining FIFA’s position on the growing phenomenon of multi-club ownership, in which financial groups control multiple football teams: “This trend raises two major concerns: the integrity of competitions and the transparency of transfer dealings. No one wants to see two clubs under the same ownership competing against each other, and even on the transfer market it becomes difficult to assess the fairness of deals between clubs belonging to the same group.”

Speaking from the club perspective, Lina Souloukou brought the direct experience of a CEO managing multiple football organizations: “Today, 17% of the world’s top clubs operate under multi-club structures. Our group has already shown concrete results with both Olympiakos and Nottingham Forest. However, meeting the requirements set by federations and leagues takes significant work, especially when two clubs from the same group compete against each other or handle a mutual transfer.”

To ensure full transparency, the ownership group behind Nottingham Forest has established a blind trust designed to manage potentially sensitive situations between clubs within the same holding structure.

Highlighting the broader implications, Marcos Motta underlined the impact of multi-club ownership on the entire football industry: “These economic models bring resources, but they also risk eroding some of the romanticism that football has always embodied. Our sector aims to win, and winning is expensive. There are vertical models, more complex to manage, and horizontal ones, where each club in the group holds equal value. Both structures come with significant challenges.”

Looking ahead, Motta raised another crucial point: for smaller clubs, not being part of a multi-club group could become a competitive disadvantage. This is why, he argues, FIFA and national federations must develop shared regulations that can effectively govern the entire system.

“What truly matters is safeguarding the long-term stability of the football ecosystem,” concluded Lina Souloukou, “and ensuring that both clubs and federations have solid foundations on which to make long-term investments”.