Prince Abdullah: Why is he taking action against Sheffield United's owners? | OneFootball

Sheffield United's owners have been served a winding-up petition by Prince Abdullah

Sheffield United will be aiming to get back into promotion contention under Chris Wilder in 2026/27.

The Blades endured a disappointing campaign, with the team coming 13th in the Championship, 13 points adrift of the play-offs.

The Yorkshire outfit reached the play-off final in 2025, losing 2-1 to Sunderland, but were unable to maintain that competitive level over the last 12 months.

It was a disastrous first full year in charge for COH Sports, who took over the second division side in December 2024.

They oversaw the dismissal of Wilder after the play-off defeat, but he was brought back after just five games into the new campaign following Ruben Selles’ sacking.

But former owner Prince Abdullah could make matters worse, as we look at the latest in his action taken against COH Sports…

COH Sports hit with winding up petition

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It was reported earlier this week that Prince Abdullah has sent a winding-up petition to COH Sports due to a dispute over money owed as part of the sale of Sheffield United.

The former administrator of Sheffield Wednesday, Kris Wigfield, confirmed that the petition showed up on the court register.

The former Sheffield United owner is seeking millions in money he feels is owed as part of his sale of the club.

Wigfield has claimed that this winding-up petition being against COH Sport would be the equivalent of if it had been against the Championship side, and any sporting sanctions the EFL could hand out would be the same.

However, there are no guarantees that the EFL will get involved at this stage, with the administrator suggesting that there is currently a game of cat and mouse being played by the two parties.

Prince Abdullah has previously threatened the new Sheffield United owners with liquidation due to £10 million he feels is owed to him, with it now being claimed that the amount has risen to £35 million due to the takeover agreement involving payments made in installments.

This £35 million figure relates to the agreement Prince Abdullah and COH Sports reached for the sale of Sheffield United, but he has also written to the EFL and the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) about the matter.

The first demand to pay the debt was received by COH Sports in late 2025, with the Saudi Arabian businessman threatening a winding-up petition if he wasn’t compensated.

This winding-up petition has now arrived, and this will be concerning for Sheffield United supporters as it puts the club at risk of going into administration.

However, there are no suggestions that COH Sports cannot afford the £35 million figure, meaning that this dispute could still be resolved.

If they simply didn’t have the money to cover this compensation, then administration would surely follow.

Sheffield United have no immediate concerns with Prince Abdullah action

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Instead, there must be some other reason why the amount hasn’t been paid to Prince Abdullah, which remains unclear at this stage.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has claimed that COH Sports, who have rebranded to 1919 Partners LLC amid this controversy, have essentially set up a shell company to complete the takeover of Sheffield United.

“There was a contract for, effectively, COH Sports Bidco Ltd to pay the Prince a series of installments for the agreed sale price for Sheffield United Football Club,” said Maguire, via The Star.

“And it looks like COH Sports Bidco have not kept their side of the bargain.

“Now, I'm looking at their Companies House page here, and they've already used one or two delaying tactics to avoid publishing any accounts.

“So there's nothing there to find out exactly what's behind the company.

“What we appear to have is, it looks like a shell company.

“Lots of directors coming in, and it was a company which was set up for £1, which is always a cause for concern, because you can do things like this. And then there was the sale – well, what appears to be the sale – to another company under the umbrella [1919].”

Maguire believes that lawyers will be getting involved to resolve this issue, and that the Blades have potentially manoeuvred their way around fulfilling their payments to the club’s former owner.

“Which means that should the Prince try to get the money off COH Sports Bidco and they say: ‘Well, we aren't going to pay you,’ there's nothing behind that company now from which he can extract any cash. Because the assets have been transferred to another part of the group,” he added.

“Now, I'm not a lawyer, but I would have thought that a good lawyer or somebody experienced would have drawn up a contract to ensure that if control of the football club was moved on, then any monies which were due to the Prince immediately become payable before that deal can go through.

“If that's not the case, then we've got a complication.”

It remains to be seen whether the EFL or the IFR will get involved in this matter, but for now it is up to the new and former Sheffield United owners to resolve their dispute before it escalates any further.