March 17 – Iranian-Canadian businessman Alex Haditaghi has acquired Polish side Pogon Szczecin in a move that will “save the club”.
Last December, Haditaghi had begun talks with the Polish top flight club but they had slowed. However, in a statement last week, Szczecin announced that Haditaghi stepped in at the last minute to prevent the club from going bankrupt.
The club said that it was hours away from insolvency. Haditaghi takes over from a Brazilian group of investors, led by Nilo Effori, who had defaulted on payments to creditors and player salaries.
In the 2023-24 season, Szczecin had a revenue of about €19 million, but their outstanding short-term debts are understood to be about €14 million. Haditaghi brings with him football agent Mariusz Mowlik and Tan Kessler, who will serve as director of football.
“I did not step in here to take over – I stepped in to save, rebuild, raise and make this club everything it was meant to be,” said Haditaghi in a statement.
“We will act transparently, honestly and with a clear goal: to give the club success, pride and bring excitement back to this football team. The best days of Pogoń Szczecin are ahead of us.”
At the weekend, Haditaghi attended Szczecin’s 5-2 victory against ten-men Cracovia. Pogon are fourth in the Polish Ekstraklasa, nine points behind league leaders Raków Częstochowa.
On social media, Haditaghi wrote: “We were losing, but this team – our team – refused to give up. They fought, they believed, and in the end they made a miraculous comeback that felt so familiar to me. In many ways, their struggle mirrored my own journey as a club owner. Failing, but never giving up.”
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