{"id":681496,"date":"2026-07-09T02:17:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T02:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/681496\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T02:17:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T02:17:15","slug":"efl-examines-sheffield-united-over-claim-owners-trying-to-avoid-paying-full-purchase-price-sheffield-united","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/681496\/","title":{"rendered":"EFL examines Sheffield United over claim owners trying to avoid paying full purchase price | Sheffield United"},"content":{"rendered":"

The English Football League is investigating allegations that Sheffield United\u2019s owner, the American investment group COH Sports, has formed a new parent company for the club to avoid paying \u00a335m owed to the previous owner, Prince Abdullah.<\/p>\n

COH Sports, led by Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy, agreed a deal to buy United from the Saudi Arabian<\/a> for about \u00a3100m in December 2024 and paid the first instalment of about \u00a330m shortly after, but is alleged to have been late in paying the second instalment and missed two subsequent payments due this year. Abdullah\u2019s investment vehicle, United World, issued a winding-up petition in the high court against COH Sports this week and has taken its concerns to the EFL and the Independent Football Regulator.<\/p>\n

United\u2019s owners are understood to accept that about \u00a335m is owed and have confirmed the parent company change but insist the two matters are not related. Talks over a resolution have been taking place for some time, with Abdullah offered the chance to convert the debt into equity in the club, but a solution has yet to be found.<\/p>\n

In correspondence sent to the EFL, seen by the Guardian, Abdullah\u2019s representatives claim he is owed \u00a335m by COH Sports which it is refusing to pay. The letter further alleges that COH Sports has transferred shares from the entity used to buy United, COH Sports Bidco Limited (CSBL), to a new company, 1919 Partners LLC.<\/p>\n

On 22 June, United issued a \u201cboard update\u201d which announced that 1919 Partners LLC, a Delaware-based corporation, \u201cis the parent company of Sheffield United FC\u201d and \u201csits at the centre of the ownership structure\u201d of the club.<\/p>\n

The letter from Abdullah\u2019s legal representatives asserts: \u201cIn circumstances where the ultimate owners, who must have satisfied the EFL\u2019s owners and directors test in relation to the club at the time of acquiring the Blades shares, then revealed themselves to the EFL as people who would engineer a means of transferring the Blades shares out of CSBL to avoid paying in full to own the club, it is unclear how the EFL could possibly remain satisfied that these individuals could be fit and proper or otherwise suitable to run one of its football clubs, let alone one with the history of Sheffield United.\u201d<\/p>\n

The EFL is understood to have written to United\u2019s owners several days ago in an attempt to ascertain whether they have complied with regulations, and was actively engaged on the issue before receiving a formal letter from United World on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe EFL notes recent developments involving Sheffield United and has requested observations from the relevant parties in the context of EFL regulations,\u201d a spokesperson said. \u201cAs this process is ongoing, we are not in a position to make any further comment at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to demanding payment, Abdullah\u2019s legal team is understood to have raised concerns that the change of ownership could affect the integrity of the EFL, because avoiding paying the full agreed purchase price would give United a competitive advantage over their Championship<\/a> rivals.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for 1919 Partners LLC said: \u201cThis matter has no impact on the day-to-day operations or financial stability of Sheffield United, which remains well positioned ahead of the new season. We are focused on winning football matches, not playing politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we have already said, the purpose of the restructuring was to create a stronger platform, more efficient and flexible ownership structure that further supports the long-term financial sustainability of Sheffield United. It provides a stronger platform for existing owners to invest additional capital into the club alongside our lender MSD Capital and, over time, creates a more attractive framework for future investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an outstanding matter with the former owner, and we will not comment on private commercial discussions. We have engaged, and will continue to engage, constructively and transparently with the EFL and the Independent Football Regulator.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The English Football League is investigating allegations that Sheffield United\u2019s owner, the American investment group COH Sports, has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":681497,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[218,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-681496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-football","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/681497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}