QSI to pick up stake in S.C. Braga

Article posted by Coliseum, October 14^th, 2022

Image: Skyline (Doha, Qatar), Nuroptics, CC BY-SA 3.0

The Qatari owner of France’s top-flight club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) agreed to a deal on October 10^th to take a minority stake in the Portuguese club S.C. Braga (Portugal).

‘The Indian Express’ stated that the Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) said an agreement to buy almost 22 percent of shares in the 101-year-old club was declared to the Portuguese financial authorities, and the deal should be completed within months.

The Qatar Sports Investments is a closed shareholding organization founded in 2005 and based in Doha, Qatar. Revenues generated from ventures of Qatar Sports Investments are reinvested into Qatar’s sport, leisure and entertainment sectors.

The Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as PSG, is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. The 47,929-capacity Le Parc des Princes in Paris serves as their home venue.

Sporting Clube de Braga, commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the City of Braga in Portugal. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. The 30,286-capacity Estádio Municipal de Braga in Braga serves as their residence.

‘The Indian Express’ further stated that the Qatar Sports Investments is buying into Champions League potential with Braga, which is a Europa League regular having reached the final in 2011 and played in the group stage seven of the past eight seasons.

The club is in third place in the Portuguese league – behind traditional powers S.L. Benfica and FC Porto – which currently earns a place in the Champions League qualifying rounds.

However, Champions League reforms taking effect in 2024 give a third direct entry to the group stage for the domestic league ranked No. 5 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and Portugal is competing for that slot with France and the Netherlands. Though UEFA rules bar clubs in shared ownership playing in the same competition, the Qatar Sports Investments minority stake would likely avoid intervention if PSG was drawn to play Braga.

Explained Braga President Antonio Salvador, “We believe that this is the right shareholder to accelerate our growth and expansion.”

Qatar Sports Investments Chairman Nasser al-Khelaïfi, who is also PSG President, described Braga as “An exemplary Portuguese institution with a proud history, enormous ambition and a reputation for excellence on and off the pitch.”

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