Cheltenham Town may become the next League Two club with American investment as an American Football star has been linked with the club.
The Robins have been searching for a major investment since Autumn 2024, as the club has struggled with finances and their relegation back to the fourth tier this season. They are not the only side in the division in the process of securing American investment, with A$AP Rocky and his consortium’s takeover of Tranmere Rovers still in progress.
Super Bowl Winner Interested
According to Gloucestershire Live, former American Football linebacker and Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Malcolm Smith has been named as the American-based investment bid into Cheltenham Town and has been shown around the club’s training facilities. He is best known for winning the Lombardi Trophy back in 2014 with the Seattle Seahawks, but has also played for the San Francisco 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Previous reports into the situation had revealed there were multiple interested parties into the club, including one American offer, one local offer and one from former Coventry City owner Joy Seppala. Three of the four current biggest stakeholders at Whaddon Road are willing to sell their shares of the club.
Writer’s View
Cheltenham Town are on the market so it is no surprise with how big Football has become in the United States over recent years, that people are becoming interested in getting involved. The EFL’s status has been heavily boosted in the Gridiron Football scene, with former defensive end JJ Watt a major figure at Burnley, and undisputed icon of the game Tom Brady being prominent around Birmingham City with Tom Wagner. Malcolm Smith may not have the profile of those two, but he will bring in loads of funds for The Robins to use. Whilst it is not clear how much knowledge of the beautiful game he has, having a figure like that will be helpful in understanding sport, and also perhaps bringing some profile to Cheltenham across the Atlantic.
