New York Knicks’ forward Carmelo Anthony is looking to get into the soccer business — as an owner of a professional club.
EoS has learned Anthony is seeking an ownership role in the North American Soccer League, targeting the creation of a new side based out of Puerto Rico.
The NASL is certainly familiar with the market. The Puerto Rico Islanders featured in the league for two seasons before the club suspended operations in 2012 due to ownership and fiscal issues.
Anthony, who’s mother is Puerto Rican, is looking to revive the lost soccer market — but not necessarily under the Islanders banner. The 31-year-old Brooklyn native visited Puerto Rico in early May to scope out the landscape, investigate potential stadium sites and to speak to local politicians about the interest and possibility for a new pro soccer team. He has since been in constant contact with the NASL, which has longed to find the right partners to bring back their unique Puerto Rican market.
Talks between Anthony and the NASL have quietly been going on for months. Still, the resurrection of Puerto Rico is in the infancy stages, with no word on other potential ownership partners joining the Brooklyn native as of this report.
Currently Anthony is traveling with the Cosmos as a “guest of the league” to witness New York’s historic match against Cuba in Havana. He departed New York Sunday evening and is expected to remain in Cuba through Wednesday.
Archived content originally from EmpireOfSoccer.com by Dave Martinez
