FSG finally get investment boost after Liverpool appointment and major setback

While Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group embark on their search for a second football club to acquire, one of the teams under their ownership has been given a start date for its inaugural season.

Back in November 2022, FSG agreed to acquire one of the franchises for the six-team TGL competition that was being launched and spearheaded by golf stars Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods through their TMRW Sports venture.

FSG purchased the Boston Common Golf Club and had expected to see the competition get underway in January of this year only for a power system failure at the venue that was supposed to play host the the TGL, the So-Fi Dome in Florida, resulting in part of the air-supported dome inflating.

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The result of the damage was that the TGL slated its debut season a further 12 months in advance, with the start date for the competition confirmed on January 7, 2025, with the competition to be shown on ESPN on Tuesday nights, with two of the nights in question being 24 hours after some of the most watched sporting events on the network, with January traditionally ESPN’s most-watched month.

The primetime slot will be a boost to the TGL and the owners of its teams, with FSG looking for a strong performance and return from its most recent team investment, with the new format aimed at appealing to new audiences as well as existing ones for golf.

The idea behind the TGL marries live golf with technology. The concept is team match play in a 250,000-square-foot arena at Palm Beach State College in Florida. The longer shots are hit into a screen 20 times larger than a standard simulator, and actual shots from 50 yards or closer are played to a high-tech green complex that rotates on a turntable to create different shots. Full shots are played off real grass or sand, depending on the shot.

The competition has attracted a 24-man roster of players who will be assigned to each team, with names including the likes of Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa, as well as McIlroy and Woods.

McIlroy will be part of the FSG team in Boston alongside Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley and Tyrell Hatton.

“January is a tremendous time of year for fans looking for prime-time sports and TGL’s launch will complement the start of the PGA TOUR season and take advantage of ESPN’s promotional machine across their coverage of the NFL and college football playoffs,” said Mike McCarley, the CEO of TGL’s parent company, TMRW Sports, speaking via Forbes.

Having managed to secure the return of Michael Edwards to the fold to oversee the expansion of FSG’s football investments, attention has now turned to where an additional club could be acquired from.

Back in 2022, FSG had looked to Brazil as a potential market for a new team due to the regulatory changes that were occurring in Brazilian football, where outside investment was being welcomed, as well as the potential to reform the Brazilian top tier to include the biggest clubs in a bid to drive forth media rights.

However, given the nature of the investment that will be led by Edwards, its focus will likely be on finding a club in the best area that can act as a player pathway for the Reds for finding, housing, and developing talent in a way that aligns with Liverpool’s methods. The success of Brighton & Hove Albion and others in this regard has not gone unnoticed by FSG decision-makers, especially after the club almost spent £111m on Moises Caicedo last summer, a player who had cost just £4.5m two years earlier.