USA-based sport investor agrees to acquire majority stake in A-League’s Western United

KAM Melbourne, a subsidiary of USA-based KAM Sports, has today announced its agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Western United Football Club and its parent company Western Melbourne Group (WMG).

With Western United’s owners having faced a series of financial issues that have delayed its plans to construct a new 15,000-seat stadium at Tarneit in western Melbourne along with related residential and commercial development, the investment looks set to restart the model that underpinned the club’s entry into the A-League for the 2019/20 season.

Going forward, the investment in Western United is intended to form part of KAM Sports’ wider football-focused, multi-club international strategy.

Led by its Chairman and co-founder Maciek Kaminski, and Chief Executive and co-founder Mikhail Kaminski, the KAM Sports team has experience in portfolio asset management including the financing, structuring and management of large residential and commercial real estate developments in the USA and Europe.

With property development being its core business, the group has over 40 years’ experience leading and operating both public and private real estate entities.

It is KAM Sports’ longtime ambition to fuse their international property development experience with football club ownership.

Announcing the investment, Maciek Kaminski explained “after a 12-month due diligence process and multiple visits to Melbourne, we are delighted to inject our capital, expertise and passion into Western Melbourne Group and its related entities.

“This represents our first investment ‘down under’, and the combination of integrating sport and real estate to make a meaningful impact in the local community in the west attracted us to this opportunity. The scale and scope of the WMG vision aligns very well to our own skill sets where we can add real value.

“Having met with Wyndham Council and other project partners over the last 12 months and the local community, it’s clear there’s a strong desire to get on with the next phase of the exciting project and get it done. The community knows that this is a project that will deliver lifetime benefits and produce our future Socceroos and Matildas from Melbourne’s western suburbs, and we are fully committed to doing just that.

“Given our sporting ambitions, we look forward to building on the success of the club and supporting the team in its charge towards a second A-League Men’s title this season. More importantly, we aim to bring financial stability and sustainability to the club, and ensuring that it can become one of Australia’s leading professional sporting organisations and strong corporate partner for the league. The prospect of being the first sports team to fully own their stadium is exciting and we look forward to accelerating the development of this and seeing it filled with local community and supporters.

“The continued development of local talent, both male and female, and creating grassroots to elite pathways under the Western United brand is top-of-mind for us.”

Chairman of Western Melbourne Group, Jason Sourasis noted “we are thrilled by the significant investment and commitment from KAM Melbourne. It was important to partner with a group that aligned with our values and believed in the vision.”

Australian Professional Leagues (APL) Chairmen, Stephen Conroy added “the pending sale of Western United to KAM Melbourne marks an exciting new chapter for the club, the community and Australian football more broadly. With KAM Melbourne’s demonstrated commitment to growing the game and commitment to building the stadium, this partnership brings fresh energy and enormous potential for success on and off the field.”

The transaction is subject to successful completion of the necessary approval processes by Wyndham City, the APL and regulatory processes by Football Australia.

WMG’s bid to enter the A-League was based on a plan to build a sport-driven retail and residential lifestyle precinct on a 62.5-hectare site in Tarneit in Melbourne’s western corridor.

The centrepiece of the mixed-use development is to house an elite, professional football club, and build a football-specific stadium.

It was revealed yesterday that world football governing body FIFA had imposed a ban on Western United registering any players in the next three transfer windows.

Images: Western United fans (top), 2019 concept for the club's stadium at Tarneit in Melbourne’s west (middle, credit: Populous) and players and fans securing the A-League Men's regular season trophy for the 2022/23 season (below).