The people behind Kicker Advisors have a diverse background but share a common view:
The formation of young players is a significant investment and ultimately the players are the assets of the game, but the clubs need to prefinance their development.
Between the formation of the player at the age of 14 and the moment he potentially triggers revenues (be it trough stadium ticket sales or transfer payments) there is a span of approximately 5 years.
Every club needs to prefinance the player formation at its own financial risk. If a club is sufficiently capitalized or has current revenues, then this risk can be absorbed trough the balance sheet or P&L account. If not, then the club needs financing from an outside party. Historically banks have played that role for the clubs, leaving them with more debt and leverage than before.
It is the stated aim of Kicker Advisors to offer an alternative funding solution for the clubs in order to relief financial pressure. This should allow the clubs to invest more in the formation of young players and to keep them longer on their own payroll.
This will be done trough the purchase of minority shares in the future transfer rights of those players from their clubs. On the other side this allows investors to achieve a reasonable return on a widely diversified pool of players. These returns will over time increase the potential investor base for the clubs, as more and more investors are attracted by this asset class, which is relatively independent from the overall economic development.
