Welsh second division club Swansea City is once again making international headlines with a remarkable investor: The club has announced that US rapper Snoop Dogg is joining the club as a co-owner.
The 53-year-old musician is one of the most successful rappers in history. With 35 million albums sold worldwide and a career spanning 30 years, his achievements speak for themselves. However, not everyone is aware of Snoop Dogg’s interest in soccer.
But that seems to be the case. “My love for soccer is well known, but it feels special to become a club owner,” the Californian is quoted as saying in a club statement: “This is a proud working-class town, an underdog that fights back. I will do everything I can to help the club,” said Snoop Dogg, who was impressed by the club’s history and surroundings.
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Snoop Dogg likes Swansea’s underdog role
Swansea did not disclose how much Snoop Dogg is paying to get involved. The rap superstar’s ability to help the club was already evident last Saturday when he made a surprise appearance to unveil the second division club’s new home jersey, ensuring that Swansea went viral on the internet.
Swansea hopes to attract attention thanks to the musician’s enormous charisma. “We hope that his global reputation and love of soccer will play an important role in making the name Swansea City as widely known as possible,” the club said, hoping for an economic boost.
Snoop Dogg is the second celebrity co-owner of the Swans after Luka Modric (39). The exceptional Croatian footballer, who recently moved to AC Milan after many successful years at Real Madrid, acquired a minority stake in the Welsh second division club in mid-April. At the time, it was not clearly communicated what the scope of his involvement would be.
Gorringe heralds the next episode
The club itself is in a phase of transformation. There had already been movement in the management ranks in recent months when majority owners Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan sold their shares in the club. This was followed by changes in the positions of managing director and sporting director.
Referring to Snoop Dogg’s famous song “The Next Episode,” which he released with Dr. Dre in 1999, City’s Tom Gorringe spoke of the next episode for the club in its quest to create new opportunities to increase its reach and visibility.
“Snoop’s huge global fan base and audience will certainly help us in this endeavor, and he has made it clear throughout the process how excited he is to join the club. During our conversations, he talked about how he has worn many soccer jerseys without ever feeling that a club was right for him.” That is now set to change.
