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1 month ago
16 Sir Jim Ratcliffe owns a number of sporting franchises across the world and he is not against striking partnerships between them.
The British billionaire acquired 25% of Manchester United at the end of 2023 and gained sporting control at Old Trafford. While the deal was ratified in February 2024, INEOS have wasted no time making big changes to the club’s structure.
One of those changes includes dropping Sir Alex Ferguson from his paid ambassadorial role, which he has held since his retirement in 2013. This all came as part of INEOS’ cost-cutting strategy to help United balance the books. There are also plans to redevelop the infrastructure at the club from the stadium to the training complex in Carrington.
INEOS under Ratcliffe own shares in several sports clubs, including FC Lausanne-Sport, OGC Nice, as well as the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team and INEOS Grenadiers.
FC Lausanne-Sport were Ratcliffe’s first adventure into the sporting world, in 2027, when the Swiss outfit came under his full control. They gained promotion back to the Super League in 2023 after finishing runners-up in the second tier. They are currently positioned towards the bottom of the Swiss top flight.
FC Lausanne-Sport becoming a sister club of Manchester United
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty ImagesMulti-club ownership is something that has been frowned upon in football circles for as long as I can remember. Not it seems the big fight has moved towards state ownership.
FC Lausanne-Sport recently struck an agreement with United that saw three academy players train with the Swiss club during the October international break, as reported by the Manchester Evening News.
Habeeb Ogunneye, Jack Kingdon and Ethan Williams all travelled to Switzerland after showing promising signs in the youth teams this season.
The United trio were joined by U21 manager Travis Binnion and head of academy Nick Cox in Lausanne.
In a statement, FC Lausanne reveal that the three youngsters will remain at the club until Saturday to continue their training programme.
“This first exchange demonstrates the close ties maintained by the two clubs and the desire to share them with the aim of their respective development.”
FC Lausanne sporting director, Stephane Henchoz, also confirmed that the two clubs are now in partnership.
“This trial week allows for a first general temperature check for the three young Manchester players, as well as for the members of the staff present as well as for our first team,” he said.
“It is possible that players from the English club will continue their development within our club in the near future. Conversely, the two clubs also want to provide the players of the FC Lausanne-Sport academy with the infrastructure and experience that a few weeks’ training camp in Manchester can offer.
“It is already planned that teams from our academy will travel to England this winter to compete against the junior teams of the Manchester club. These exchanges, which will benefit everyone, will become more and more regular.”
The one big benefit from this is that our young players can now gain new experiences from being part of the academy. FC Lausanne-Sport are now a juggernaut in Swiss football by any means, but they’ve prioritised youth development since Ratcliffe’s acquisition.

 
