Arm of the likely owner of Vasco expands

During the presentation of 777 Partners to Vasco’s Deliberative Council — the objective was to provide details of the binding proposal for the purchase of SAF — the North American company brought up the name of the holding’s football project, which until then had been little used. by the media: 777 Football Group.

It is with this nomenclature that the company has presented itself to the world in its expansion plans in the sport, which began with the acquisition of 15% of Sevilla-ESP and which are already on their way to their fifth club.

Following the Spaniards, the 777 bought the Genoa (Italy), the Standard Liège (Belgium) and the Red Star (France). And apparently, between the end of July and the beginning of August, the Vasco SAF will take over.

Founding partner of the company, American Josh Wander made it clear in his recorded testimony that the company’s idea is to expand even further. The executive, however, always likes to emphasize that the traditions, characteristics and histories of the clubs will be preserved.

“You may have heard about the football business we are building at 777. You know we have teams in Italy, France, Belgium and Spain, and we will likely have many more in the future. In each case, our priority is carefully to respect history, the legacy and traditions that make each club special to its fans and the community that surrounds it,” Wander said in an excerpt, adding:

“I am here to promise you that it will be the same way with Vasco. Our main objective is to preserve Vasco’s history and identity, while ensuring that the club will have all the tools and structure to be successful, both inside and outside. field for many years. We want to bring Vasco back to where he belongs, one of the most important clubs in Brazil, South America and around the world.”

The coaching staff has ex-City, ex-Tottenham, ex-Leicester…

In addition to acquiring clubs, 777 Partners has focused on hiring high-profile professionals in international football. In recent months, a chain management “backbone” of the company’s teams has been formed.

Leading the way as CEO of 777 Football Group, for example, is Don Dransfield, who was City Group’s head of strategy for 12 years. He will be based in London (ING) and will have a global view of the company’s football arm.

Below him is sporting director Johannes Spors, ex-Hoffeinhem (ALE) and Red Bull Group. At the German club, for example, the executive “discovered” Roberto Firmino, now at Liverpool (ING). In the company that leads the energy drink brand, he worked in Leipzig and Salzburg with names such as Keita (Liverpool), Timo Werner (Chelsea), Upamecano (Bayern Munich), among others.

As director of football analysis, Mladen Sonaz, formerly of Leicester City (ING), was hired. He will be tasked with forming a team of data scientists and analysts to provide information and numbers to the company’s clubs.

For the position of commercial manager, 777 Football Group brought in Aidan Mullally, formerly of Tottenham. He will play a strategic role in the company’s new business.

As head of strategic partnerships is Sam Kline, former Vice Media Group, which was considered the largest independent youth media company in the world, with 35 offices.

Football directors for each club

777 Football Group has also hired specific football directors for each club, who are instructed to report all the planning of their respective teams to the directors mentioned above, in addition, of course, to the executives of the holding company as a whole. This has been done with Genoa, Standard Liège and Red Star, with professionals who have also played in important clubs in Europe.

At Vasco, this strategy should also be adopted, but the tendency is for the position to be occupied by some prestigious name that already works in Brazilian or South American football.

They assure that Vasco will not be a satellite club

Although it is expanding its chain of clubs, 777 Partners guarantees that Vasco will not be a satellite club, in the same way as is done in Grupo City with the teams that surround, for example, Manchester City. Among the promises made by the holding company in the binding proposal is that the Cruz-Maltino will be a “flagship” in South America, an expression that refers to something like “flagship”.

After the initial R$ 700 million in the next three years at Vasco, 777 Partners assures that the club will be in the top 5 in Brazil in investments in football.

$9 billion in assets across more than 50 companies

The holding 777 Partners was founded in 2015 and its main focus is to rebuild large companies that are in a delicate financial situation. Currently, the company has US$ 9 billion in assets (about R$ 48.4 billion) in more than 50 businesses around the world. It operates in six segments, with a main focus on the areas of sports, media and entertainment.

Vasco will hold a public hearing

In yet another step in an attempt to make the SAF sale process transparent to 777 Partners, Vasco will hold tomorrow (13), at 7 pm, at Vasco TV, a public hearing in order to resolve doubts and provide information regarding the agreement.

Registration for participation was opened yesterday (11) to statutory partners and supporters, from anywhere in Brazil and the world, on the Sócio Gigante platform. To register, the member will redeem a point from their membership plan. The first 30 members to register will have their participation confirmed. Those who are unable to register will continue to have the possibility to present their doubts or questions through the e-mail address [email protected].

The Public Hearing will be conducted by the Board of Directors, without the participation of 777 Partners.