Aston Villa group owners have been reportedly engaging in the talk of a French side takeover in the near future.
Aston Villa group owners, Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris, are currently in progress of their expansion move. Their holding company, V-Sports, has been considering the takeover of one team in the French league. According to the report in The Athletic via Birmingham Mail,
“Talks are continuing with the French second-division club FC Annecy, with whom Villa have already established an informal partnership.”
Should the negotiation come to an agreement, FC Annecy will be included in the V-Sports group alongside Real Union from Spain and the Japanese side, Vissel Kobe. The takeover is part of the group plan for expanding their support system in team development, scouting and coaching, including for Aston Villa.
The talks with the Ligue 2 side are basically already part of their ongoing collaboration. Prior to this plan, V-Sports had made initial collaboration with FC Annecy regarding the loan deals for the Aston Villa academy player.
Triston Rowe, one of the players from Villa’s youth side, has been sent on loan this season. The 19-year-old defender has been doing quite well there with 32 appearances and registering one goal and two assists so far. Another Villa academy graduate, Travis Patterson, has also been loaned out to the club since January this year.
Their informal collaboration does not only include talent development. V-Sports are claimed to be in position to support the improvement of FC Annecy’s internal facilities plus their home turf too, the Parc des Sports stadium, which currently can hold over 15,700 people.
This kind of partnership is not exactly new for V-Sports. They have made the same cooperation with the Ivory Coast side, ASEC Mimosas, and the MLS club, Columbus Crew.
FC Annecy has never competed in Ligue 1. The best tier in French football they can manage to play so far is in Ligue 2. The club have been competing in the second tier since their promotion in 2022.
Since then, they have made vital progress. Their finish in the final standings has improved from 17th in the 2022/23 season, then 14th in the 2023/24 season, before going into the top ten in the last two campaigns. Laurent Guyot’s side have been able to sit sixth and seventh consecutively. It is their best finish so far in the club’s history. Previously, their best finish was 9th in the second division (Ligue 2) during the 1990/91 season.
In the domestic competition, FC Annecy stunned French football as they managed to reach the semi-final in Coupe de France 2022/23. They saw off Paris FC and the French giant, Olympique Marseille, in the process on penalties. Annecy eventually lost to the eventual champions, FC Toulouse in the final four.
Should their progress be on the right track, they could gain promotion to the top flight for the first time in history within five years. V-Sports’ support could be crucial in their dream target.Toulouse,
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