City Football Group's JV with Goals Soccer Centres Plc

Our sports sector team has advised City Football Group (CFG), the owner of a number of football clubs, including Manchester City and New York City, on a strategic 50:50 Joint Venture (JV) with Goals Soccer Centres plc, a leading operator of outdoor small-sided soccer centres, with 48 sites including two in California.

The JV will combine Goals’ existing North American operational expertise and site sourcing capability with CFG’s footballing, marketing and commercial expertise in order to accelerate the growth of the Goals brand in North America.

It was launched at Goals Pomona in Los Angeles by chairman of Goals, Nick Basing, and CEO of CFG, Ferran Soriano, who were joined by a number of Manchester City players, including new signing Danilo, as well as Leroy Sane, Yaya Toure and Nicolas Otamendi.

The City legal team was led by Corporate Partner Paul Jefferson, working alongside Commercial Partner and Head of Sports, John Burns, Commercial Solicitor Conor Hannon, and Corporate Partner, Stephen Roberts, with support from Richard Clitherow (Tax) and Abi Sowden (Banking).

Paul Jefferson commented: “This deal will go a long way to increasing the profile and fire-power of Goals Soccer Centres in North America. These are exciting times for both CFG and Goals, and we wish them the best of luck. We’re looking forward to continuing to develop our strong working relationship with City.”