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AFC Seorin to be sold to Pharitayan wealth fund

Published in the Times-Courier Online on behalf of Hesperida Sports Network

SUYANG: “Suyang’s Team” is about to be sold to the Pharitayan Prosperity Fund (PPF), sources in both Suyang and Puri Rimbawan report. The fund, jointly managed by members of the San, Ae, and Mi families, generates the vast majority of its value from hydrocarbon drilling and refining in the country, and is estimated to be worth hundreds of billions of Sanctarian pounds. The PPF has controlled a 15% stake in the team since 2022, but with HS Entertainment and related investors agreeing to sell their combined 43% share in the team for a reported £4.5 billion, the fund will now own an outright majority of the club.

The move has been hailed by fans, as many believe the influx of wealth this could bring will help the club compete on a continental and worldwide stage. The arrival of the wealth fund helped facilitate splashy transfers in recent years, such as the £52 million paid to New Liverpool F.C. for Slokasian central midfielder Nestor Fuentes in August 2022, or the £96 million paid to Hyangsan Athletic during this winter’s transfer window for the young Haesanite striker Seo Eui-kwon, a record transfer for the Commonwealth League and the second highest fee ever paid for a Haesan-born player. With almost half of AFC Seorin’s starting lineup already expected to be capped by the Haesan national team in this upcoming IDUFC, it is expected that under this new ownership the club is also expected to make large transfers for foreign born players as well.

Seorin has used these transfers to achieve success in recent years. Although leaving Hesperidan competition early this season due to being drawn in a “Group of Death” with New Liverpool, Laeralsford, and Mitre Rovers, Seorin currently leads the Commonwealth League with 6 points over Club Cité with three matches left to play. Seorin also will face Hansaeng Jeonyu in the upcoming Haesanite Association Cup Final in May and has booked a spot in the upcoming IDU Club World Cup due to its high coefficient rating from its stellar play in the domestic league, where it has only lost two games.

The arrangement has also been celebrated by the city of Suyang, who owns a residual 10% stake in the club as part of the terms of the sale of the land on which Seorin’s home Suyang Stadium is located, and the city continues to earn a share of the gate fees and other revenues from the stadium. The move is supported by the government as it is expected that the new owners will invest in much needed renovations for the 50 year old stadium, along with an expansion that is requested by the city as it considers bidding for the 2025 Summer Olympics, a position that has gained in popularity after the controversy surrounding the opening ceremony of the Hanshui ’23 games. With the resources of the PPF, its financing of grand theatric stadiums in Pharitaya as part of the “Sporting Hub Pharitaya” initiative, and the expected return on investment from the remodel, it is expected that construction will start shortly after the papers are signed.

However, not all the responses have been positive, as protests have assembled outside of Suyang Stadium and AFC Seorin’s headquarters nearby in downtown Suyang. Many of the protestors have called the acquisition “sportswashing”, and fear that Pharitaya’s ruling class will use this to paper over their human rights abuses. The Howard Prince-Gonzalez Institute has ruled that Pharitaya’s elections are “unfree” and those who voice opposition with the Seven Families are routinely arrested. Those protestors are joined by environmental activists from the Green Haesan Movement, an offshoot of the Lauchenoiria-based Watchdogs of Our Earth, who are concerned about Seorin being purchased by functionally an oil trust. These protests have been peaceful; however, it is unlikely they will affect the deal, which is expected to be finalized early next week.

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