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- Durant will support on content creation, social media, player relations and community outreach
- Kristin Bernert, Karen Bryant and Carli Lloyd invested in Gotham FC earlier this year
- Deal marks Thirty Five Ventures’ second soccer play after acquiring stake in MLS’ Philadelphia Union
The National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) NJ/NY Gotham FC have added Thirty Five Ventures, the investment vehicle co-founded by National Basketball Association (NBA) star Kevin Durant and his manager Rich Kleiman, to the franchise’s ownership group.
The deal sees Thirty Five Ventures becomes the third group to take a minority stake in Gotham FC in just over two months, joining Kristin Bernert and Karen Bryant in March and Carli Lloyd in April.
Thirty Five Ventures’s investment includes additional partnership elements that will see Durant and Kleiman support on content creation, social media strategy, player relations, as well as community outreach. It is the organisation’s second professional soccer outlay, having acquired a stake in Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Philadelphia Union in June 2020.
Prior to Gotham FC, Thirty Five Ventures’s notable investments have included media platform Just Women’s Sports (JSW) and esports company Andbox, in addition to a partnership with player-driven women’s sport organisation Athletes Unlimited.
Thirty Five Ventures was also part of a group that invested US$100 million in ticketing technology company SeatGeek, which is merging with RedBall Acquisition Corp, in October 2021.
“Bringing in Kevin, Rich, and [Thirty Five Ventures] as investors is a huge statement about the positive trajectory of our club,” said Tammy Murphy, club chair of Gotham FC.
“The level of enthusiasm they’ve displayed has been above and beyond anything we could have anticipated.”
Ed Nalbandian, managing owner of Gotham FC, added: “This is another big step forward for our franchise. Kevin and Rich are two of the most influential people in sports and their work in the business and entertainment world and their significant investment in Gotham FC illustrates the potential of our club.
“They will be tremendous resources to the club across multiple areas and we’re excited to welcome them to the Gotham FC family.”
