Inbox:

CHESTER, Pa. (May 28, 2024) –  As part of its ongoing commitment to being a leader in player development, Union Sports & Entertainment today announced a strategic partnership and investment with Lyngby Boldklub of the Danish Superliga. Union Sports & Entertainment has purchased a minority, non-controlling ownership stake in Lyngby in order to expand its technical footprint, collaborate on youth development tactics and strategies and serve as a potential additional vehicle for both Union and Lyngby player and staff advancement. Lyngby’s current ownership will continue to operate the club and make decisions independently.

“We admire Lyngby’s achievements and are confident that we can assist each other through thought-sharing and strategic collaboration,” said Jay Sugarman, Union Sports & Entertainment Chairman. “Our process was driven by a desire to enhance the core strengths of our club and to better leverage the network Ernst has established in Europe. Our discussions and interactions have confirmed to us that Lyngby is a club that shares similar values and ambitions with the Union and we look forward to a mutually successful relationship going forward.”

“Over the past few years, we in the ownership group have spoken to more than twenty potential, specific investors, but for one reason or another we have turned down the offer. Now we have succeeded with our plans: A model where Friends of Lyngby remains the owner, but where we get a co-investor in the sporting area that matches our club. We think this is the right model for Lyngby Boldklub,” says Tommy Petersen, chairman of the board of Lyngby Boldklub A/S.

Lyngby Boldklub is a prestigious Danish club, founded in 1921, that has won both Danish championships and cup titles. The club is deeply rooted in the local community and is known for its extensive work with young talents. Over the years, Lyngby Boldklub has produced numerous players and coaches who are widely recognized in the football world. Examples include Yussuf Poulsen (RB Leipzig) and Thomas Frank (Manager at Brentford).

Union Sports & Entertainment LLC is the parent company of Major League Soccer team Philadelphia Union, Philadelphia Union II, the Philadelphia Union Academy, and Philadelphia Union Youth Programs. Union Sports & Entertainment LLC also owns or controls more than 100 acres of land along the Delaware River which is home to Subaru Park, WSFS Bank Sportsplex, Union Power Plant office building, and the Independence Blue Cross Training Center. Philadelphia Union and Lyngby have previously worked together when the Union signed Lyngby academy product Sanders Ngabo.”

Well woop dee fuckin’ doo! This is so exciting for season ticket holders and diehard fans who are currently watching an eighth-place team that has won a grand total of one game since April 7th. The Union won’t invest in the first team, but they will buy a 10% stake in a foreign team that nobody has ever heard of (with an option for a further 10%).

It would be one thing if ownership had the capacity to create a Red Bull-ish multi-club network that worked to develop and transfer at various levels of the global game. We’ll send Cinnaminson homegrown Johnny Johnson to Leipzig and they’ll give us Thomas Spitlzspriegen in return. Everybody wins! That’s the arrangement you see with Manchester City via Girona, NYCFC, Palermo, Troyes, etc. City Football Group, aka Oil Money FC.

The Union don’t have oil money, so instead they buy 10% of a Danish team. That’s fine in a vacuum, and you need investment and expansion at all levels of the operation, be it the youth academy, training facilities, overseas partnerships, etc. There’s so much to invest in and grow outside of the first team. Problem is, this first team was minutes away from winning MLS Cup just two years ago, and went to the semifinals of two competitions alone in 2023, but nothing was done to improve those squads. And don’t give me Damion Lowe, Andres Perea, and Joaquin Torres. Improving the bench doesn’t change the fact that they ran it back. Now they’re running it back again with the team they just ran it back with.

So when the Union send out press releases like this one, they will always look dumb because of the optics alone. You have money for this shit, but not better players?