Brazil nuts

NORTHAMPTON TOWN

On September 5, Northampton Town’s 87th-minute winner against Newport County was celebrated from the directors’ box at Sixfields by Alexandre Pato, wearing a claret suit. After retiring in 2023, the former Brazil striker, best known for his time at AC Milan, got a qualification from Harvard Business School and became the co-owner of Sports Alpha Capital (SAC). The “sport, media and investment fund” looked into acquiring Colchester United earlier this year, with Pato attending a home fixture in January, but the deal ultimately collapsed. In April, days after the Cobblers were relegated to the fourth level for the ninth time in their history, chairman Kelvin Thomas announced that the club was in talks with a “well-funded investment group” that would clear theclub’s £10 million debt. The timing of the announcement provided supporters some hope after a disastrous second half of the season. A 5-1 drubbing at relegation rivals Burton Albion on Boxing Day signalled the start of a long slump down towards the bottom. Northampton managed to record a singular post-Christmas Day League win, against Stevenage on February 7, until Pato attended that fixture against Newport. This season will mark ten years since Thomas took control of Northampton after saving the club from the brink of administration in late 2015. Since then, he has overseen the building of the East Stand, which was fully opened in April 2025 , 11 years after building started. However, recent seasons have proven that he and the current ownership lack the finances to make the club stable in League One. A portion of the fanbase called for a change in ownership with the aim of ending the recent history of bouncing between the third and fourth tiers (there have been three such relegations in the last decade). However, others have urged caution, scarred by a history of irresponsible owners. These include David Cardoza, the man behind the East Stand saga, who has been charged with fraud – his trial is scheduled for 2028. The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) ought to alleviate the concerns of the sceptics, vetting any prospective owners to ensure they are “fit and proper”. On August 28 it deemed SAC board members Atanas Bostandjev, Hugh Strange and Adam Wible suitable for the roles of owner at Northampton Town, publishing the decision a week later. Bostandjev, a British-Bulgarian who is also the majority owner of Levski Sofia, was approved despite some supporters voicing concerns after an article that appeared in the Financial Times on August 25 highlighting the links between Gemcorp Capital – the emerging markets company of which he is founder and CEO – and Russia. The company was, in the words of an earlier FT article from 2024 , “launched with a fund backed by two Russian oligarchs with links to Sergei Chemezov, the powerful boss of Rostec, Russia’s state weapons giant”. In 2022 Gemcorp cut ties with Russia and shut down its Moscow office. The IFR approval will at least settle initial nerves and the forthcoming announcement of the investment’s completion will be a cause for optimism. The group have promised to clear outstanding debts, though it is still unclear what percentage of the club they will acquire. The presence of a famous face among the new ones has led to social media rumours of a Welcome to Wrexham style documentary for Brazilian TV and even more fancifully, a Copacabana Cobblers supporters group. At one time the seemingly ever-growing losses associated with running an EFL club could be addressed through the appointment of a transformative manager, as happened with Eddie Howe at Bournemouth. These days such figures seem to be in short supply so modern football fans have to pin their hopes on new owners with deep pockets. The doubts surrounding Gemcorp’s funding may serve as an early test to the IFR approval system. But, for the first time in a while, there is at least some optimism around Sixfields. Ciaran Myers