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The next reclamation project for Matt Rizzetta’s sports-focused private-equity firm Underdog Global Partners is an Italian soccer club that previously played in the country’s top tier but currently sits in Serie D, Front Office Sports has learned.
Underdog is buying AS Reggina 1914, according to sources familiar with the matter. The deal has not closed but is expected to be completed this month.
Hollywood couple Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, who are minority owners in another UGP-owned Serie C Italian soccer team, Campobasso, are involved in the Reggina deal, sources say. Campobass was the subject of an ESPN documentary, “Running with the Wolves,” that followed Ripa and Consuelos across southern Italy and highlighted their role as co-owners of the team.
Assuming the transaction goes through, the aim will be to expend the necessary resources to build a team that can rise back up into Serie A within five to seven years.
Reggina currently plays in Serie D, the fourth tier of Italian soccer, but was in the country’s top tier, Serie A, for seven years between 1999 and 2009, and was in Serie B as recently as 2020. The club plays in the southern coastal city of Reggio Calabria and has an existing stadium, Stadio Oreste Granillo, which seats more than 27,000.
Rizzetta declined to comment on the deal, but he did tell FOS that Reggina is a “historic club with a Serie A history and fanbase” that has “major global appeal.” A representative for the club’s current ownership did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The planned deal comes amid a broader effort to revitalize the city of Reggio Calabria. The Italian government has pledged to invest billions in infrastructure projects, including the long-planned Strait of Messina bridge linking the region to Sicily.
In addition to Campobasso, Rizzetta’s UGP also owns Napoli Basketball, which was acquired last year and plays in Italy’s top basketball league, plus a second-tier Italian women’s team and a new Canadian Premier League team. His group is also in talks to buy another Italian soccer club, Serie A team SSC Napoli; a consortium led by UGP recently made a roughly $2.3 billion (€2 billion) offer to buy that team, FOS confirmed last month.
The 43-year-old Italian American investor—who previously worked for family office North Sixth Group for over 15 years before striking out on his own to buy sports teams—says he has big aspirations for his clubs. When he launched UGP in September, he told FOS it was his attempt to prove he can “play in the same sports-asset sandbox” as billionaires like Josh Harris and David Blitzer as well as John Henry, who set up sprawling sports empires through corporate entities.
He hopes to get Napoli into either EuroLeague or NBA Europe. His general partners at UGP include veteran fintech executive Dan Doyle, Angelo Pasto, a Montreal-based real estate pro, and financial services entrepreneur Joseph Greco.
Reggina is just one of many lower-tier clubs across Europe that American investors have purchased with hopes of becoming the next Wrexham. Celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac bought the Welsh club in 2021 and have seen it promoted three straight times before missing out on a promotion this year. Wrexham currently plays in the second-tier Championship, meaning the team is just one level away from the Premier League. The club’s success has dramatically increased its value; the group with Reynolds and Mac bought the team for roughly $2.5 million, a deal that was completed in 2021. In June, reports said a minority stake was up for grabs at a $475 million valuation.
