‘Avengers’ Director Joe Russo Joins Board Of English Soccer Team Sheffield United

Hollywood’s unexpected love affair with lower league English football is continuing.

Avengers director Joe Russo has been named on the board of Championship side Sheffield United, after the club was taken over by a U.S.-led consortium, COH Sports, last month. He was also named as an investor.

He is the latest Hollywood figure to invest in an English soccer team, coming after the likes of Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who hosted Russo at a match in Wales in April 2023 in which the Red Dragons were promoted back into the English Football League. Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady is part of the group that owns Birmingham City.

In a press release announcing new board members, Sheffield United called Russo a “record-breaking director and producer who has been responsible for some of the most successful and culturally relevant global content.”

Russo, along with brother Anthony Russo, directed Marvel Cinematic Universe film Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). The brothers are also directing two more MCU features, Secret War and Doomsday, which they teased last week, and have in recent years overseen the creation of Prime Video’s Citadel TV universe along with several other projects.

Russo, whose films have taken more than $7B in worldwide box office revenue, directed hit Netflix The Gray Man, and was a producer and writer through his AGBO production house on the streamer’s action franchise Extraction.

He will be joined on the Sheffield United board by Len Komoroski, senior advisor at Rock Entertainment Group, which is the umbrella entity housing the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and real estate executive Terry Ahern. They join a team that currently sits second in the Championship, the league below the money-spinning Premier League, having been relegated in the 2023-24 season.

“We are delighted to welcome Joe, Len and Terry to the board of directors of Sheffield United Football Club,” said Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy, co-Chairs of Sheffield United. “We want to see the Blades competing in the top-flight of English football consistently, not just on a one-off basis. An important element of this is ensuring Sheffield United Football Club has the highest quality team not just on the pitch but in the boardroom as well.

“Each of Joe, Len and Terry bring outstanding capabilities and decades of experience to the table as we plan for the long term, develop the brand and ensure we have the best infrastructure in place. As prospective board members and investors we know all Blades fans will give them a warm welcome at Bramall Lane.”

Wrexham’s rise through the divisions of English football (despite the club being based across the border in Wales), has been charted in the Disney+ doc series Welcome to Wrexham. It could be a case of, “Avengers… Assemble! Sheffield… United!” now the club has a Russo in its corner.