This is the Filipino entrepreneur who wants to buy Finn Harps.
Donegal Daily can reveal that Alfredo ‘Freddy’ Razon Gonzalez, a former pro footballer and ex-Philippines national team manager, is the man behind the proposed multi-million euro takeover bid of the Donegal club.
Gonzalez has been in Donegal recently and was snapped by Joe Boland of North West Newspix at a game in Finn Park.
“It has been my lifelong dream since childhood to own and build a football club. After my time as Director of National Teams for the Philippine Football Federation ended in June 2025, I made the decision to pursue that dream,” he said.
“I was considering opportunities in UK football, but when the Finn Harps prospectus came across my desk, I found it extremely interesting. The timing is right for investment in Ireland.
“The numbers in the League of Ireland have been improving massively over the last few years, and there’s real, genuine government support to help improve facilities. What stands out is the upward curve we’re seeing, particularly around academy structure, which is exactly what we want to build and develop.
“From my visit to Donegal, I found a beautiful county with people who genuinely love their sport. There are huge opportunities available to grow the club, and what we want to bring to the table is the funding to ignite that. With the funding we provide, it will help develop the strategic plans that are already in place here.”
The 48-year-old from Parañaque played for the Philippines national team from 1997 to 2002 and scored four goals for his country in 13 appearances.
He played professionally in Philippine, Indonesia and Vietnam, but retired from playing at a young age to concentrate on his business ventures.
He studied at the University of Portland, earning a degree in Business Administration and Sociology.
Gonzalez took over as the men’s national team manager and national teams director with the Philippines Football Federation in 2004 and stayed in the role until June, 2025.
The PFF said on his departure: “Gonzalez’s time in charge will be remembered for having started an influx of exciting young talent into the National Teams, establishing a new level of professionalism to their operations, and steering the Men’s National Team to a historic run in the ASEAN Championship and a promising start in the Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers.”
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He is a member of the ICTSI family, said to be one of the Philippines’ most respected business dynasties. He and his wife, Anne Arcenas, founded Terry S.A. Inc in 2003. The lifestyle and retail company specialises in fashion distribution and brand management.
In 2015, also founded Medifi, a cloud based web app for online medical care, which came into being after a personal experience Gonzalez had with a doctor being in the USA and he in Manila.
Gonzalez said: “I have experience in building businesses, and the key is to build a sustainable business in football. It will be about development and scaling organically, investing in growing the club from the ground up. That’s the approach we’re taking.
“Finn Harps has a genuine history of performing at the highest level in Ireland. The club has gone through hard times, but there is enormous untapped goodwill in Donegal waiting to be mobilised.
“Our approach is academy-focused with ambitious but well-developed plans. We want to get back to the Premier Division and compete there, but this is built on a foundation of developing young players and creating facilities the area deserves. The people of Donegal deserve a team to believe in again. We hope to deliver that.”
Yesterday, Donegal Daily went inside the deal that will be put to Harps shareholders.
Gonzalez has committed to providing a total of €1.6m to cover Harps’ total contribution to the development of the new stadium in Stranorlar.
He will also put forward €213,000 to acquire the parcel of land in Stranorlar that the new stadium is on.
He will take on the club’s creditors – which stood at €511,325 in the last set of audited accounts, covering the 12 months to the end of December 2024 – and cover legal and commissioning fees.
An as-yet-undisclosed seven-figure sum is committed in annual payments for the operational running of the club over an initial contracted period of three years.
On July 5 at a special general meeting, Harps members will be asked to vote on whether or not to change from a Co-Operative Society model to a private limited company.
Provided that initial vote is carried, they will be asked to vote on the possible sale of the club two weeks later. The first vote would need the go-ahead from 75% of the attendance to pass while the second requires a simple majority of attendees.