by Think about multi-club ownership models in football and one immediate example comes to mind: Manchester City’s City Football Group, which has 13 clubs under its umbrella around the world, including the reigning Premier League champions. League as a figurehead.
But around 70 places further down the English pyramid, there is another similar model starting to take shape: for its flagship club, at least. The Trivela Group, based in Alabama, was created in 2021 by American businessmen Ben Boycott and Kenneth Polk; a year later, in the summer of 2022, they acquired Walsall, with Boycott joining the Saddlers as co-chairman.
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They have since bought Drogheda United in Ireland, Trivela FC in Togo and late last year announced a deal to buy a majority stake in Danish club Silkeborg. This proposed purchase sparked protests from Silkeborg supporters, who were opposed to adhering to a multi-club ownership model. But in England, where the project began, things seem much more optimistic.
Trivela replaced former Walsall manager Michael Flynn with Mat Sadler midway through last season. He got the job permanently in the summer and quickly took the Saddlers to the brink of promotion before the January transfer window even ended. Before the weekend’s matches, Walsall were 12 points clear at the top and 15 points clear of the playoff places.
No team at this level for over 20 years has amassed more points after 26 games than 58 Walsall. Their 16-match unbeaten run came to an end against a Bradford side who are one of a handful of contenders for what appears to be one of two remaining automatic promotion places alongside Walsall, but the reaction of their traveling support after the 3-0 defeat. – Alex Pattison (with two) and Antoni Sarcevic the scorers – said it all on Saturday.
Having finished only 11th in the five seasons since their relegation from League One, Sadler has united his players and supporters in spectacular fashion. The 18 goals scored by Nathan Lowe before he was recalled by Stoke were undoubtedly the key to the start of the season, although there is clearly enough talent in this group, even without Lowe, to get over the line arrival.
It is a club now united on and off the pitch: it is a far cry from the Danish scenes at the end of last year, when Silkeborg supporters made their feelings clear about joining the Trivela portfolio. But Sadler has a strong connection with the club’s owners here and the aim of the project is clear: for all clubs under the umbrella to work together, something Walsall is already benefitting from.
One of their replacements here, defender Evan Weir, was signed by Drogheda before being loaned temporarily to the Irish club. They have just done the same with Elicha Ahui, who has returned to Drogheda for the remainder of this season. For Sadler, it’s a unique model that he knew he would be working with when given the job, but one that he believes gives them an advantage.
“It was like that when I took office, so I knew what I was getting into,” he said. “I think it’s very beneficial to have access to players from different clubs that other teams might not have. The people who run this model are fantastic people. We are in constant communication, about things in Drogheda and Silkeborg all the time.
The plan is for Trivela to grow even further, with more potential acquisitions, meaning more player swaps that, as Sadler says, other clubs may not be able to call upon. Will it work worldwide? Time will tell. But this is Walsall’s sixth season in League Two: and it is looking increasingly likely that it will be their last for the foreseeable future.
