Brian Odhiambo, 11/2/2022 10:36 PM
Mergers and acquisitions between clubs, where change of ownership occur when one club (‘the acquiring club’) takes over management of another club (‘the acquired club’) and the resultant club even gets a name change of the acquiring club, is not new to Kenya and has been happening across the world of football globally from over a century ago.

The mergers and acquisitions allow struggling clubs to change ownership and management for better resources and better organization to enable the clubs to be more competitive and take care of the welfare of the players as well as fans and stakeholders.

The legality of mergers and acquisitions seen with football clubs is a well-established phenomenon in sports and in business entities, done on a willing-buyer and willing-seller basis.

Football governing bodies have specific rules and laws in respective countries to regulate mergers and acquisitions between clubs. In England and Europe, football clubs playing in the same league cannot have the same owners and/or directors in order to avoid conflict of interest that will compromise competition’s integrity. Also the owners and directors of the acquiring club are vetted under a ‘fit and proper test’ before approval of acquisition of a new club.
A club from a lower league can take over an acquired club at a higher league and change its identity to the acquiring club. A good example happened in Spain in 2007 – a case that went all the way to the Court of Arbitration in Sports (CAS). Ciudad de Murcia (‘Murcia’), which was a Spanish second division team, was acquired by Granada together with the right to participate in the second division of the Spanish league for the 2007/2008 season. The new owners changed the name of Murcia to ‘New Granada’ and even changed the domicile home town of the new club giving the players the option to leave if they did not wish to relocate to the new adopted home town. The Spanish football league (LFP) allowed the registration of New Granada into the Spanish second division, which was subsequently confirmed by the Superior Council for Sport in Spain. The existing Granada (‘Old Granada’) maintained its position in the third regional division. The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) came under fire from some quarters in UEFA and FIFA who considered that New Granada had essentially bought their place in a higher division. However, CAS ruled in favour of Granada. The decision allowed the newly formed New Granada to play in the Spanish second division.
Listed below are examples of notable key mergers and acquisitions between clubs, including recent club mergers and acquisitions in the last decade, and also some famous big club mergers and acquisitions in history.

RECENT NOTABLE MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS BETWEEN FOOTBALL CLUBS IN THE LAST DECADE
2020: ATK Mohun Bagan FC originally known as Mohun Bagan FC merged with ATK FC – INDIA
2018: Lierse Kempenzonen created by the merger of FC Oosterzonen and Lierse - BELGUIM
2013: Beerschot VA created by the merger of KFCO Wilrijk and Beerschot AC - BELGIUM
2014: Pafos FC was created by the merger of AEK Kouklia FC and AEP Paphos FC - CYPRUS
2014: FK Budućnost Valjevo merged with FK Krušik Valjevo to create FK Budućnost Krušik - SERBIA
2017: FK Dorćol merged with FK GSP Polet to create FK GSP Polet Dorćol - SERBIA
2022: FK Proleter Novi Sad merged into RFK Novi Sad – SERBIA

FAMOUS MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS IN HISTORY
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club originally known as Stade Saint Germain merged with Paris FC – FRANCE
FC Köln created by the merger of Kölner BC and Spielvereinigung 1907 Köln-Sülz in 1948 – GERMANY
Newcastle United created by the merger of Newcastle West End and Newcastle East End in 1892 – ENGLAND

Queens Park Rangers created by the merger of Christchurch Rangers and St Judes in 1886 – ENGLAND
AS Roma created by the merger of Roman FC, SS Alba-Audace and Fortitudo-Pro Roma SGS in 1927 – ITALY
Sampdoria created by the merger of Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria in 1946 – ITALY
Aberdeen F.C. created by the merger of Aberdeen F.C., Victoria United and Orion F.C in 1903 - SCOTLAND
Celta Vigo created by the merger of Real Vigo Sporting and Real Club Fortuna de Vigo in 1923 – SPAIN

KENYA
In Kenya, the majority of teams playing in KPL and NSL were actually formed from mergers and acquisitions, especially following acquisition of teams of the acquired club by teams of acquiring clubs from the corporate sector which changed the names of the acquired teams playing in the top tier leagues to their own corporate identity.

Most recently we saw Nairobi United FC acquire Balaji FC this year (2022) and changed the name to Nairobi United FC midway during the 2021/2022 Division 1 league that was ongoing. Coast United in Mombasa was acquired by KPLC and Stima Sacco which changed the name of the club to Coast Stima FC that played in NSL and subsequently changed the name to Coast Heroes after Stima Sacco pulled out of football; similarly in Division 1 Nairobi Stima FC had a merger and acquisition with Gogo Boys FC.

There are many mergers and acquisitions that go on between clubs in Kenyan football especially in County, Regional and Division 2 leagues when clubs struggle financially or have management challenges. These mergers and acquisitions in Kenya occur between clubs under the authority and approval of FKF through the Competitions and Fixtures Committee. Of late, many football stakeholders are calling for more elaborate and transparent laws and regulations to govern club mergers and acquisitions in relation to slots changing hands in the local scene.