September 22 – When Fort Lauderdale Strikers, a North American Soccer League (NASL) club, announced on its website that a major announcement was to be made on September 19, rumors started flying that David Beckham, whose group had suggested they had some announcements to make shortly too, may have had a change in strategy. However, the truth is that three Brazilians are the ones rocking this boat.
Paulo Cesso, Ricardo Geromel, and Rafael Bertani (pictured) have together purchased the club, possessing roughly equal shares. So as to adhere to NASL regulations, Cesso has taken the role of majority owner.
Cesso has investment interests in several companies, whilst managing a portfolio of schools and universities in Brazil. He is, in general, considered an entrepreneur and investor in the field of education. With the vast and upcoming US soccer market, it bodes well that Fort Lauderdale has an owner with the expertise in to how to develop successful youth.
Cesso made a rousing speech to inspire the fans during the grand reveal that went along the lines of: “Who is the goalkeeper that made the best save of all World Cups? Gordon Banks. Who do Germans say is their own Pelé? Gerd Muller. Who did Pelé himself say was the best player in the world? George Best. These players have all played for the Strikers.”
Geromel has a diverse range of experience working in industries from agricultural to plastics, and, of course, soccer. He has worked in five continents and is fluent in the same number of languages. He also has experience playing in the US, as he used the college soccer system to earn a degree in Business Management at Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey. Since 2011 he has also written for Forbes.
Like Cesso, Bertani has a background in education. He was responsible for implementing multi Holding Group, Brazil’s largest education group, and now is an investor in startups in Brazil.
Bertani lay out the ambitions of the club moving forward, stating: “We will win championships and make the South Florida community proud of its only professional soccer team.” Though for how long the latter part of the statement will remain true is an interesting question.
Geromel will act as the managing partner based in Fort Lauderdale, dealing with the daily operations. He said that the business plan is to develop their youth. “There are 25 million children playing soccer in this country and only 9,000 soccer clubs. In Brazil, we have nowhere near that number of kids playing, and we have 30,000 clubs. I believe pro teams will mushroom in this country, the level of local talent will improve in every market, and our goal is to retain our local players so they can play professionally in their backyards and fans can watch great soccer in their communities.”
The Strikers once upon a time played in a different land, where Pele’s Cosmos were their opponents and they set an attendance record in the seventy-seven thousands, thus ambition is high to return to their former glory. Geromel’s stated their desire “to turn the Strikers back into a household name”, indicating the Striker’s history was a determining factor for their purchase: “This is why we chose NASL instead of investing in an MLS team. An MLS franchise would cost us $100 million, and we felt it was better for us to invest our money in the team itself, be able to sell tickets for $20 and build on the tradition the Strikers already have.”
The Brazilian trio will take over from current owners, Traffic Sports who will remain a strategic partner to the team, at the conclusion of the season.
Since this deal is tied up, the wait continues to hear what important announcements Beckham’s group has to make.
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