- Staff Notice
Two decades at the helm of global entertainment giant Walt Disney might seem a strange apprenticeship for taking over a lower-level English football club, but Michael Eisner insists it is the latest logical move in his high-flying business career.
The 75-year-old American completed his takeover of historic south coast club Portsmouth in August for £5.67m, buying it from fans who had stepped in with their own money to save the club.
For those who follow the media industry, the name Michael Eisner is instantly recognisable as the former head of Disney, who took what was once a predominantly American film studio making cartoons and family films into a global media monster.
He bought the American network ABC, expanded the Disney theme parks around the world to places like Paris and in a very popular move, bought the premium sports network ESPN. But his tenure at Disney was mired with controversy with many people accusing him of turning the company into a cold money machine. There was even a famous campaign against Eisner called "Save Disney."
It was something of a surprise, therefore, to read that Eisner has bought Portsmouth football club. The article goes on to describe why Eisner bought the club and there is no doubt that with his media experience, especially controlling America's premium sports channel, he knows something about sports, American sports that is.
With Man Utd and other clubs also in foreign hands, is it about time we said no to this foreign invasion and banned foreign ownership of our precious football clubs?