Ospreys’ new Asia-based owner says now is the time to buy a rugby club as online products will expand the sport
- James Davies-Yandle says that rugby is behind the curve on products for fans to consume the sport, but that is set to change creating commercial opportunities
- Y11 Sports & Media buys 75.1 per cent because they see potential for growth and an undervaluing of the Welsh rugby club
New Ospreys director James Davies-Yandle thinks that rugby has the potential for growth by innovating its products for fans and aligning the global calendar. Davies-Yandle said rugby is behind other professional sports in appreciating how fans consume sport but that gap in knowledge creates commercial opportunities for expansion.
“The reason you get involved in any sport organisation is the same – you believe you can grow the business, and that the business from a commercial standpoint is undervalued. If those two make sense, then that’s why you get involved,” said Davies-Yandle.
Last week, the Neath-Swansea-based Welsh club announced that Y11 Sports & Media had bought a 75.1 per cent stake as part of a “multimillion pound” takeover. Y11 is registered in Hong Kong and was founded by Thailand-based Davies-Yandle, who represented Wales in hockey at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Davies-Yandle is joined on the Ospreys board by his Y11 co-founder and financier, Donald Tang. Y11 once tried to buy a stake in AC Milan, although Silvio Berlusconi was insistent on selling complete ownership. The sale of the club to Chinese investors was agreed in 2016.
The Ospreys takeover came as a surprise, given rugby is struggling under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic, even more so than other sports. But Davies-Yandle is looking at the bigger picture.
