Welcome to Sideline Moves, Insider Sport’s weekly roundup spotlighting the key moves that are shaping the business of sport.
Stan Kroenke agreed to buy a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Angels at a reported MLB-record $4bn (about £3bn) valuation. FIFA accepted the resignation of Nigeria Football Federation President Ibrahim Musa Gusau and the federation’s entire executive committee.
Inter Milan parted with sporting director Piero Ausilio after 28 years. LIV Golf’s staff cuts took effect as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund ended its funding.
Kroenke agrees record $4bn Angels purchase
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment announced on Tuesday 1 September that it had agreed to buy a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Angels from Arte Moreno. The deal values the franchise at a reported $4bn (about £3bn), a record for a Major League Baseball club, according to The Athletic. The figure tops the $3.9bn paid for the San Diego Padres earlier in 2026.
Kroenke, 79, owns the NFL‘s Los Angeles Rams, the NBA‘s Denver Nuggets, the NHL‘s Colorado Avalanche, MLS side Colorado Rapids and Premier League club Arsenal through his holding company.
The transaction is for a controlling interest, not the entire franchise. Major League Baseball must approve the sale, which Kroenke Sports & Entertainment expects to close in the first quarter of 2027.
Moreno bought the Angels from The Walt Disney Company in 2003 for a reported $180m. He was the first Latino majority owner in MLB. The team has reached the playoffs once since 2010. “The Angels are a storied franchise anchored in a great market,” Kroenke said in a statement. Moreno said his family “has been honored to steward the Angels for 23 years.”
The sale follows the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks changing ownership in 2026, and the Los Angeles Lakers‘ sale to a group led by Josh Kushner and Bob Iger.
FIFA accepts NFF president and board resignations
FIFA formally accepted the resignation of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Ibrahim Musa Gusau and other principal officers on Tuesday 1 September, the NFF said. FIFA also backed a proposed reform roadmap for Nigerian football, which the federation said means Nigeria will not face sanction over the resignations.
Gusau resigned the previous week alongside General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and members of the NFF Executive Committee, following pressure over the national teams’ results. The Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Super Falcons failed to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, their first absence since the tournament began in 1991.
FIFA accepted the resignations after a meeting at FIFA House in Zurich involving FIFA, the Confederation of African Football, Nigeria’s National Sports Commission and the interim NFF administration, NFF Interim Deputy General Secretary Ademola Olajire said. The NFF has installed an interim structure, with Emmanuel Ikpeme as Acting General Secretary.
The federation described a separate letter circulating in media that purported to be from FIFA and threatened suspension as “totally fake.” The clear-out follows a turbulent period at FIFA over its scrapped World Cup investment plan.
Inter Milan parts with sporting director Ausilio after 28 years
Inter Milan announced on Wednesday 3 September that sporting director Piero Ausilio had left the club by mutual agreement after 28 years. Ausilio’s deputy, Dario Baccin, was promoted to the new role of chief sports officer.
Ausilio joined Inter in 1998 and became sporting director in 2014. His departure came the day after the close of the summer transfer window and in the final year of his contract, which ran until June 2027. The two sides could not agree terms on an extension, per multiple reports, with Ausilio seeking a three-year deal and the club offering one season.
Inter said the decision was consensual. The club is under the ownership of Oaktree Capital, which took control in May 2024.
LIV Golf staff cuts take effect as PIF funding ends
LIV Golf‘s staff cuts took effect in the first week of September, a week after the tour laid off most of its employees on Wednesday 26 August as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) ended its funding. Staff in the United States and United Kingdom were told their roles would end this week.
PIF has invested more than $5bn in LIV since 2022 and said in April it would stop funding after the 2026 season. That season ended on 23 August in Indianapolis, a week early, after the team championship in Michigan was cancelled. LIV is seeking outside investment for what it calls “LIV 2.0”, led by chief executive Scott O’Neil.
Snapshot Moves
- Nike named Jane Ewing executive vice president and chief commercial officer, effective 7 September, the company announced on 27 August. Ewing joins from Walmart and reports to CEO Elliott Hill.
Catalyst Sports Ventures, founded by Tampa investor Will Freeman, acquired a minority stake in Scottish club Kilwinning Rangers on Wednesday 3 September. Freeman joins the club’s board.
NewC Sport, a Danish sports technology company, appointed Christian Sørensen as chief executive from September, the firm said. Sørensen succeeds co-founder Mikkel Skou and joins from a career spanning FC Copenhagen, Astralis and Better Collective.
Sunderland AFC Women appointed James Gray as chief executive, commencing 1 September. Gray joins after a 25-year executive career across sports, media and consumer brands.
We’re spotlighting the movers and shakers shaping the sports business every Friday.
Submit your people moves to Insider Sport’s Editor, Louis Thompsett, at [email protected] to be featured in the next edition of Sideline Moves.
Catch up on last week’s Sideline Moves to read who approved the record $9.612bn Seahawks sale.
