KSI Dagenham takeover: Why are celebrities buying football clubs?

“The game is evolving and so are we,” wrote Daggers chairman Anwar Uddin on social media after the news was announced.

“Looking forward to writing the next chapter of our history together.”

For clubs like Dagenham, playing in the National League South after reaching as high as League One in the 2010-11 season, the appeal of celebrity investment is the powerful combination of enormous wealth and popularity.

“The celebrities have the ability to move things into a totally new space, particularly in terms of making things go viral online,” explains Dan Plumley, principal lecturer in sport finance at Sheffield Hallam University.

“In our age of digital content, influencers’ platforms are where kids are nowadays and they’re following individuals as much as teams and brands.

“There will be people interested in the celebrity, particularly the younger generation, who will begin taking an interest in a club they might have never even heard of before.

“For the club it’s about how they leverage that, including maybe doing some things for publicity that might not always be popular with everyone.”

Trends in football ownership often move in cycles, as has been the case with influxes of investment from sovereign states and American holding companies. And now it’s celebrities coming in a quick flurry.

For clubs looking for investment now, the potential advantage of becoming an early adopter of the celebrity model is not being left behind.

“We see a ripple effect where one person does it and then others follow,” Plumley says. “That does have the potential to expand further but there are only so many people with the money, will and reach to do this.”