May 10 – Brera Holdings has completed its acquisition of North Macedonia’s FC Akademija Pandev. The company acquired 90% of the club’s shares, with the value set at €600,000. The new owners said the club will be renamed Brera FC.
Brera Holdings PLC is a Nasdaq-listed Irish holding company focused on expanding social impact through football by developing a global portfolio of emerging football clubs with increased opportunities to earn tournament prizes, gain sponsorships, and provide other professional football and related consulting services.
Brera said it is looking to build on the legacy and brand of Brera FC. Brera FC, known as ‘The Third Team of Milan’, is an Italian club which has been building an alternative football legacy since its founding in 2000, with Italian football legend Walter Zenga as its first coach. Brera is focused on bottom-up value creation from sports clubs and talent outside mainstream markets, innovation-powered business growth, and socially-impactful outcomes.
FC Akademija Pandev was founded in 2010 in Strumica by former North Macedonian national team player Goran Pandev.
Initially, the club only operated youth teams, but since 2014 has had a senior men’s team, which after promotions now plays in the first division of the Macedonian League. The club achieved its greatest success in the 2018/2019 season, finishing third in the local championship and won the Cup of North Macedonia, thus qualifying for the first time for European club tournaments and participating in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers.
Pandev will be on the board of Brera Holdings. In August 2022, Brera Holdings’ subsidiary Brera Milano srl entered into a Sponsorship Agreement with Akademij Pandev that saw Brera provide consulting and other football-related services to the team, while receiving visibility, brand awareness and communications exposure in Macedonia for the Brera FC brand. A Letter of Intent for the acquisition was signed between the parties in February 2023.
“This is an example of Brera Holdings implementing its international strategy to simultaneously pursue expansion and licensing of the Brera FC brand in Eastern Europe through the Akademija Pandev acquisition and Brera renaming we intend to enhance the team’s performance, and ideally prepare players for the professional transfer market and obtain prizes related to participation rights in UEFA”, said BREA CEO Sergio Scalpelli.
“We think that following Brera’s acquisition of Akademija Pandev we can facilitate the exchange and transfer market of players from other clubs in Africa and South America, especially in the 18-21 age group. The club is also eligible to qualify for major youth tournaments, such as the UEFA Youth League, in which it will have the opportunity to compete against teams of the same age group as the major international clubs, and which represent the best showcase for the sale of young players, with many potential transfer market opportunities,” Scalpelli added.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1735201770labto1735201770ofdlr1735201770owedi1735201770sni@o1735201770fni1735201770