Ivory Coast international Wilfried Zaha and Stormzy, a UK rap star of Ghanaian descent, have teamed up to buy AFC Croydon Athletic, an English non-league football club.
Both Zaha, who plays for Premier League club Crystal Palace, and Stormzy are from the Croydon area of South London and have maintained a friendship over the years.
They have now joined forces with Danny Young, the former head of player care at Palace, to acquire the local football team that represents their community.
The club posted on Twitter: “ A three-person consortium comprised of Wilfried Zaha, Stormzy, and Danny Young has exchanged contracts with the existing ownership of AFC Croydon Athletic to acquire the assets of the club.
“The consortium will own, operate and develop their childhood hometown football club.
“Whilst completion is subject to legislative and governance procedures, the three consortium members are excited about developing a community asset in the borough that gave them their own opportunities.
“They hope to take the entire community on this exciting journey with them.
“There will be more updates to come from the consortium in due course on the completion of the transaction. In the meantime, there will be no further comment.”
📣 📣 CLUB ANNOUNCEMENT 📣📣
We are delighted to embark on a new era at AFC Croydon Athletic, subject to final FA and league approval. This has been the culmination of many months of discussions.
Further details to follow in due course. pic.twitter.com/zruFM751nf
— AFC Croydon Athletic (P) (@AFCCroydonAth) June 27, 2023
The trio’s acquisition of AFC Croydon Athletic, which currently competes in the Combined Counties League Premier South Division, the ninth tier of English football, is significant.