City Football Group

What City Football Group does

City Football Group (CFG) is a privately held holding company founded in May 2013 and headquartered in Manchester, UK, that owns and operates 12 professional football clubs across five continents, plus a broader ecosystem of media, education, real estate, and community programs. Its portfolio includes Manchester City FC, New York City FC, Melbourne City FC, Girona FC, Shenzhen Peng City FC, Montevideo City Torque, Lommel SK, ESTAC Troyes, Palermo FC, and Bahia, with minority partner stakes in Yokohama F. Marinos and Club Bolívar. The group's stated purpose is to empower better lives through football and its ambition is to be the world's best sports entertainment organisation, targeting fans, commercial partners, and aspiring players globally.

CFG generates revenue across five primary streams: matchday income (gate receipts, hospitality, and matchday experiences across 4 million annual stadium attendees), broadcast rights (league and UEFA competitions), commercial partnerships and sponsorship (400+ global and local brand partners including Etihad Airways, PUMA, EA Sports, Xylem, Asahi Super Dry, and Revolut), merchandising and retail, and education/recreation services (City Football Schools, coaching education, and Sofive Soccer Centres). The group also operates City+ as an over-the-top streaming platform and City Studios as an in-house media production hub, producing content including Amazon Prime Video's All or Nothing documentary series. The CFA Blueprint — an academy infrastructure intellectual property framework developed in Manchester — has been rolled out across all CFG clubs globally to standardize talent identification and development.

CFG is majority owned (81%) by Newton Investment and Development LLC, fully owned by His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with US-based technology investment firm Silver Lake holding a significant minority stake of nearly 17% following a $500 million investment in 2019 that valued the group at approximately $4.8 billion. The company's valuation reached at least $10 billion by 2026 per chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak. Recent strategic priorities include portfolio rationalization (Mumbai City FC divestiture in December 2025), new geographic entry (Istanbul Basaksehir acquisition in February 2024), infrastructure capex (NYC soccer-specific stadium at Willets Point opening 2027, Manchester City women's training facility), vertical expansion into real estate (Ohana Development $4.1 billion Abu Dhabi residential partnership), and post-Guardiola leadership transition planning, with Enzo Maresca expected to succeed Guardiola as Manchester City manager at the end of the 2025-2026 season.

Name

City Football Group

Legal name

City Football Group Limited

Website

https://cityfootballgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

City Football Group is a privately held holding company that owns and operates 12 professional football clubs across five continents, serving fans, commercial partners, and aspiring players through matchday, broadcast, sponsorship, academy, and media businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Multi-Club Sports Entertainment & Football Operations

NAICS

Sports Teams and Clubs (711211), Management of Companies and Enterprises (55111)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Non-Operating Establishments (9995)

akta.pro primary industry

Franchise Ownership Groups & Multi-Club Organizations (Multi-team owners, holding companies) (MPAKABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Team Sports Clubs (Football/Soccer, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, Rugby, Cricket, etc.) (MPAKABAA), Sponsorship Sales, Valuation & Analytics Services (Rights Sales, Measurement, Consulting) (MPAKALAK)

Keywords

• Multi-club football ownership
• Sports entertainment operations
• Professional football club portfolio
• Football academy development
• Sports media and broadcasting

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Matchday Revenue: Gate receipts, hospitality, and matchday experiences from stadium attendances of 4M annually across all clubs.
2. Broadcast Rights: Television and media rights income from league competitions, UEFA competitions, and domestic broadcast deals.
3. Commercial Partnerships and Sponsorship: Sponsorship deals with 400+ global and local brand partners including kit suppliers, stadium naming rights, official partners across all CFG clubs.
4. Merchandising and Retail: Sale of official merchandise, kits, and licensed products across all CFG clubs.
5. City Football Schools and Academies: Revenue from football schools, coaching education programs, and recreational football facilities including Sofive Soccer Centres.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

City Football Group owns, operates and provides strategic oversight for a portfolio of 12 professional football clubs across five continents, alongside a network of City Football Academies, the City+ OTT streaming platform, City Studios media production hub, City Football Schools coaching programs, Sofive Soccer Centres recreational facilities, and City in the Community social programs. The group sells matchday experiences, broadcast rights, commercial sponsorship inventory to 400+ brand partners, merchandising, and educational/recreational football services to fans, partners, players and communities globally.

Product overview

City Football Group operates a multi-club football entertainment organization owning and managing 12 football clubs worldwide, spanning Europe (Manchester City FC, Girona FC, Lommel SK, ESTAC Troyes, Palermo FC), the Americas (New York City FC, Montevideo City Torque, Bahia), and Asia-Pacific (Melbourne City FC, Shenzhen Peng City FC), plus partner clubs Yokohama F. Marinos and Club Bolívar. The organization provides a unified platform delivering talent development through its global network of City Football Academies, fan engagement via City Studios and the City+ OTT streaming platform, football education programs through City Football Schools, recreational facilities via Sofive Soccer Centres, esports competitions, and community outreach through City in the Community initiatives. The portfolio generates approximately €1.6 billion in total squad value across clubs and connects with more than one billion followers worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• City Studios: CFG's in-house media team and production hub that creates content for all CFG clubs, setting the standard in world football media.
• City+
• City Football Schools
• City in the Community
• Manchester City Sports Business School
• Sofive Soccer Centres

Products and services

• City Football Group Football Club Portfolio Portfolio of 12 professional football clubs across multiple continents (Manchester City FC, New York City FC, Melbourne City FC, Girona FC, Shenzhen Peng City FC, Montevideo City Torque, Lommel SK, ESTAC Troyes, Palermo FC, Bahia, plus partner clubs Yokohama F. Marinos and Club Bolívar), providing global coverage, infrastructure, expertise, and commercial opportunities shared across the network.
• City Football Academies Global network of football academies delivering youth development, world-class coaching, and talent identification programs across Manchester, New York, Melbourne, Montevideo, Girona, Palermo and other locations, built on the CFA Blueprint IP framework.
• City+ OTT Streaming Platform Subscription-based over-the-top streaming platform offering fans live matches, exclusive content, behind-the-scenes footage, exclusive interviews and documentaries from Manchester City and other CFG clubs.
• City Studios Media Hub In-house media and content production facility creating premium video content, match coverage, behind-the-scenes programming, documentaries (including Amazon's All or Nothing series), match highlights and interviews for CFG clubs.
• City Football Schools Football education and coaching programs using CFG's methodology, delivered globally to young players and coaches through bespoke training programs and licensed academies across multiple countries.
• Sofive Soccer Centres Modern recreational football facilities offering small-sided games with digital scoreboards and video playback capabilities for players of all levels, generating subscription/usage-based revenue.
• Cityplay Wearable Performance Tracker Wearable performance tracker for young football players, enabling skill development tracking through technology across CFG's youth development programs.
• Manchester City Sports Business School Educational programs exploring football, sports business, and leadership, ranging from executive education to teen-focused programs delivered under the Manchester City brand.
• City in the Community Community-focused charitable initiatives operated by CFG clubs, supporting youth through football with social programs, health initiatives, and community development across Manchester, New York, Melbourne and Montevideo.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 billion+ followers worldwide across CFG clubs
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• N-ablecoreTechnology or Integration · 19 March 2026N-able, Inc. was selected as Manchester City's official cybersecurity partner, becoming the club's first dedicated cybersecurity partner. The company provides AI-powered cybersecurity solutions to protect the club's critical systems, data, and daily operations across its digital environment under a multi-year agreement.
• Leicester CityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 February 2026Leicester City appointed James McCarron, former City Group director of player development, as their new sporting director in a newly created role. The appointment represents talent movement from CFG network to member clubs.
• RevolutminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 14 February 2026Revolut became the Official Back of Shirt Partner for both Manchester City men's and women's first teams, appearing on match shirts for domestic cup matches and WSL/cup fixtures. The partnership expands Revolut's existing relationship with Manchester City Women since early 2025.
• Ohana DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 January 2026UAE-based luxury real estate developer Ohana Development partnered with Manchester City FC to launch 'Manchester City Yas Residences by Ohana', a $4.1 billion branded waterfront residential community on Yas Canal in Abu Dhabi. This is the club's first globally branded residential project, with completion scheduled for 2029.
• Mumbai City FC (Exited)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 December 2025City Football Group divested its entire 65% shareholding in Mumbai City FC, returning full ownership to founding partners Ranbir Kapoor and Bimal Parekh. CFG had held the stake since November 2019, during which Mumbai City won two ISL League Winners' Shields and two ISL Cup titles. Exit followed comprehensive commercial review amid ISL uncertainty.
• Oak View GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025City Football Group and Oak View Group launched Eastlands Venue Services as a joint venture. CFG joined Oak View Group as Joint Venture Partner in Co-op Live, Manchester's new entertainment venue adjacent to the Etihad Stadium.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cfg_insights
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/city-football-group
• Instagraminstagram.com/cityfootballgroup
• TikToktiktok.com/@cityfootballgroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about City Football Group