A U.S. consortium fronted by real estate investor Al Tylis and Club Necaxa executive Sam Porter has completed a takeover of Colombian soccer team La Equidad — backed by investors including actors Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and Eva Longoria.
La Equidad is based in the Colombian capital of Bogota, where the club’s home stadium Estadio Metropolitano de Techo has a capacity of 10,000. The team finished 13th out of 20 teams in the top flight of the 2024 league phase of the season in Colombia. The club was founded in 1982 by an insurance company (also called La Equidad).
The consortium, which also includes MLB pitcher Justin Verlander and his model wife Kate Upton, has acquired over 99 per cent of the club at a valuation in excess of $30m, according to sources familiar with the deal who asked to remain anonymous when disclosing confidential information.
Talks over the acquisition had been ongoing during the second half of 2024, before completing on Wednesday.
It represents the latest foray into soccer for the Hollywood stars Reynolds and McElhenney after the pair acquired Wrexham AFC in 2021, when the team was playing in the fifth division of English football. Since then, Wrexham has been promoted twice and is on track to challenge for promotion to the Championship this season, which will leave the club just one division away from playing in the Premier League. The pair have fused their stardom, the rise of streaming and media acumen to grow global interest and support in Wrexham, most notably through the award-winning docu-series Welcome to Wrexham, which has broadcast the Welsh club’s rise under their star-studded ownership, as well as pre-season tours to the United States.
(Daniel Munoz/AFP via Getty Images)
The Tylis-Porter group previously acquired around 50 per cent of Mexican top-flight team Club Necaxa in 2021 and their investors for that takeover included Longoria, the ex-Arsenal player Mesut Ozil, Verlander and Upton. Porter has previously been an executive at both D.C. United in Major League Soccer and Swansea City in English football.
In April 2024, Reynolds and McElhenney acquired a minority stake in Necaxa, while the consortium in Necaxa took a reciprocal stake in Wrexham. Filming has already taken place for a docu-series on Necaxa, entitled “Bienvenido a Necaxa” (Welcome to Necaxa). Variety reported in June that FX and Disney+ Latin America have ordered the documentary, with Longoria, Reynolds and McElhenney enlisted as executive producers and on-air stars. It remains to be seen whether similar plans may be afoot in Colombia, but Longoria, Reynolds and McElhenney all have production companies of their own who may like to be involved.
Multi-team soccer investments have become a growing trend in the sport in recent years and they provide the opportunity to identify talent from untapped areas, share data and analytics across teams for player trading and provide player development opportunities with carefully placed loan moves.
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The consortium for La Equidad also includes the author, professor, podcaster and entrepreneur Scott Galloway — known as Prof G — as well as Shawn Marion, the four-time NBA all-star, who has also invested in Necaxa, which has been valued at over $200m. Further celebrity A-listers are in talks about joining the investment.
In a statement to The Athletic, Porter, co-managing partner of NX Colombia, the holding company for the acquisition, said: “I am pleased to confirm that Al Tylis, our investment partners, and I have successfully acquired Club Deportivo La Equidad.
“This is an incredible opportunity to enhance the club’s growth in every aspect and to become an integral part of Colombian football. We are privileged to collaborate with an outstanding group of investors, including Eva Longoria, Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney, and Shawn Marion, who have been instrumental in our project at Club Necaxa in Mexico. Together, we are committed to elevating the Club to its highest potential.”
La Equidad has been approached for comment.
(Top photo: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
