Why are more and more celebrities investing in football clubs?

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 5 Mar 2026 05:35 CST
• 4 min read

News

YouTuber KSI is the latest celebrity to invest in an English football club.

KSI, real name lajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, has a reported net worth of around £75 million and this week purchased a minority stake in non-league outfit Dagenham and Redbridge.

He is mostly known for his content creation work on YouTube but has branched out into sports with celebrity boxing fights, while is an investor in Prime energy drinks and Lunchly snack boxes - as well as being a judge on Britain's Got Talent.

Celebrity investments in English football are becoming routine, though they hit mainstream in 2020 when Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney purchased Wrexham. They set out a plan to gain Premier League football and, they might just achieve that feat this season as they are in the mix in the playoff positions in the Championship after an unprecedented three straight promotions.

What followed that duo was a flurry of celebrity investment in football clubs.

In 2022, another Hollywood superstar entered the mix as Michael B. Jordan purchased a stake in Premier League side Bournemouth.

Ed Sheeran also holds shares in Ipswich, though that one is a bit more understandable as he's a fan of the club.

American television legend Martha Stewart holds shares in Swansea. Now, we can probably say with a degree of certainty that she wasn't a fan of the Swans growing up. Even more bizarrely, she invested in Swansea at the same time as hip-hop icon Snoop Dogg.

And then there is NFL GOAT Tom Brady, who has appeared a lot more on British television over the last couple of years after investing in Birmingham City.

But, with financial losses rising in English football, why are these celebrities getting involved?

"History tells us most investors in football clubs don't tend to make money and some English clubs are carrying huge losses," explains Dan Plumley, principal lecturer in sport finance at Sheffield Hallam University, to BBC Sport.

"It's more of a passion project thing for a lot of the celebrity investors, who have already made their money in their careers, with potential big returns only if their grand plans for the club come off.

"The global appeal of football still holds for investors, even in the lower leagues, and English football is uniquely placed because of the amount of clubs there are.

"The financial gap is huge between the leagues so it's a massive job to rise up from where Dagenham are - and then to keep going beyond that towards the Premier League would cost hundreds of millions of pounds.

"For a celebrity to see a return on their investment will take a lot of time and needs proper sporting success too. If that doesn't happen, and happen quickly, then interest can really wane."

With the exception of Reynolds and McElhenney, who have pumped millions into Wrexham, the other celebrities mentioned have, so far, taken a back seat when it comes to investment.

Why then, are clubs keen to endorse these famous faces getting involved?

"The celebrities have the ability to move things into a totally new space, particularly in terms of making things go viral online," Plumley says.

"In our age of digital content, influencers' platforms are where kids are nowadays and they're following individuals as much as teams and brands.

"There will be people interested in the celebrity, particularly the younger generation, who will begin taking an interest in a club they might have never even heard of before.

"For the club it's about how they leverage that, including maybe doing some things for publicity that might not always be popular with everyone."

The fan's view

Do fans of football clubs want celebrity investors? Well, it seems Dagenham and Redbridge supporters are delighted that KSI is now involved with their club.

"It's exciting for people and sounds very positive," says Russell Elmes, chair of Dagenham & Redbridge Supporters Club.

"There is always a bit of wondering what's going to happen because our last few different ownerships haven't quite worked out as we all hoped, so hopefully better and brighter things are ahead for us in the future this time around.

"We want someone here for the long term who is going to make the club sustainable because it is going to take a long time to get back to where there fans want us to be.

"What's important above all else is that we still have a football club to support week in, week out and don't lose our club like has happened elsewhere."

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