LONDON: Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has become English football’s youngest chairman after the 23-year-old completed his takeover of League One side Sunderland on Thursday.
The Frenchman, the son of late Marseille owner and billionaire Robert Louis-Dreyfus, sealed the deal after being granted approval from the English Football League.
Louis-Dreyfus originally agreed to purchase a controlling interest in the Black Cats in December.
He watched the team lose 2-1 against Shrewsbury last week in his first public appearance since his takeover at the Stadium of Light was announced on Christmas Eve.
“I am proud to become a custodian of this esteemed institution, but I also recognize the significant responsibility that comes with it,” Louis-Dreyfus said.
“I am confident that together we can weather the present storm and put solid foundations in place to bring sustainable and long-term success to the club.”
Former Sunderland owner Stewart Donald will keep a minority shareholding.
Donald was unable to spark a revival in Sunderland’s fortunes after they were relegated from the Championship in 2018.
The 1973 FA Cup winners were relegated from the Premier League in 2017 after 10 seasons in the top-flight.
“Kyril’s commitment, acumen and integrity convinced us to accept his proposal,” Donald said.
“His vision and desire to bring success back to Sunderland was obvious from the outset and his bid is the one that we feel gives the club the best chance of long-term success and sustainability,“
Sunderland are seventh in the third-tier, a point outside the play-offs, as they chase a return to the Championship.
Louis-Dreyfus will also have a trip to Wembley to look forward to with his new club after Sunderland reached the Football League Trophy final with a penalty shootout victory over Lincoln on Wednesday.
Louis-Dreyfus, 23, buys Sunderland to become English football’s youngest chairman
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Louis-Dreyfus, 23, buys Sunderland to become English football’s youngest chairman
- The Frenchman, the son of late Marseille owner and billionaire Robert Louis-Dreyfus, sealed the deal after being granted approval by the English Football League
- Sunderland, relegated from the Premier League in 2017, are seventh in the third-tier, a point outside the play-offs, as they chase a return to the Championship
Trump said Iran ‘welcome to compete’ in World Cup, says Infantino
US President Donald Trump has said that Iran is “welcome” to participate at the upcoming World Cup in North America, despite the ongoing Middle East war, FIFA chief Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday.
The war, triggered by US-Israeli strikes on February 28, has thrown into doubt Iran’s participation at this summer’s men’s football World Cup, jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
During a meeting to discuss preparations for the competition, “we also spoke about the current situation in Iran,” Infantino, the head of world football’s governing body, wrote on Instagram.
“During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” he wrote.
The comments marked the first time that Infantino, who in December created a FIFA peace prize and awarded it to Trump, has acknowledged the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Trump’s remarks to Infantino are a stark contrast to his comments to Politico last week.
Trump told Politico: “I really don’t care” if Iran play at the World Cup.
FIFA’s president has grown close to Trump since he returned to the White House, even attending his inauguration.
Asylum claims
Iran’s federation football chief on Tuesday cast doubt on his team’s participation in the sporting extravaganza, following the defection of several women footballers from the Islamic republic during the Asian Cup in Australia.
“If the World Cup is like this, who in their right mind would send their national team to a place like this?” Mehdi Taj asked on Iranian state television.
While the event is spread out across three countries, Iran are scheduled to play all three group games in the United States, two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
Should Iran withdraw from the sport’s quadrennial showpiece, it would be the first time a country did that since France and India pulled out of the 1950 finals in Brazil.
On Tuesday, at the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, some players from Iran’s team claimed asylum after they came under fire from state television for not singing the country’s national anthem before one match.
Five players, including captain Zahra Ghanbari, slipped away from the team hotel under the cover of darkness to claim sanctuary from Australian officials, the Australian government announced.
At least two more team members applied to stay later in the day, according to local media.
However, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Wednesday that one of them had subsequently changed her mind.
Burke said in parliament on Wednesday that he had since been advised that one of the group “had spoken to some of the team mates that left and changed their mind.”
“She had been advised by her team mates and encouraged to contact the Iranian embassy,” he said.
“As a result of that, it meant the Iranian embassy now knew the location of where everybody was.”
The remaining players have been moved from a safe house to another location, he said.
