Who actually are the investors plotting Sheffield Wednesday takeover alongside James Bord? | OneFootball

Football League World looks at the three names involved in the consortium linked with a takeover at Sheffield Wednesday

It's been over a month now since the administrators at Sheffield Wednesday revealed that they had a preferred bidder to take over the club.

While those at Begbies Traynor were unable to clarify who the preferred bidder was due to legal administrative reasons, the BBC would reveal that it was the group led by James Bord who were chosen to move forward with the process.

The Owls have been in administration since October, when Dejphon Chansiri gave up his ownership of the club in the wake of a £1 million winding-up petition over money owed to HMRC.

Since then, there has been plenty of excitement over the prospect of a new owner at Hillsborough, which has since slowly started to turn to impatience, while the EFL runs through their legal processes, including the owners' and directors' test.

It's been stated that the EFL's reviews won't have a set timescale, so while Wednesday fans wait for things to pass, here are the current known names in the consortium that they, and fans of other EFL clubs, will have to become accustomed to if the takeover is completed.

James Bord

The leader of the proposed takeover is former professional poker player and sports analytics expert James Bord.

The former can be attested to, having won £3.2 million on the pro poker circuit. However, if you ask fans on the opposite side of the Steel City, they'll have some dicey opinions on his data-based company, which uses AI for analytics.

His data company, Short Circuit Science, had a consultancy contract with neighbours Sheffield United to assist with recruitment over the past year.

They were involved in the sacking of Chris Wilder and hiring of Ruben Selles, plus the arrivals of several players who have either since had their loans terminated, in Ben Godfrey and Louie Barry's case, or haven't had a look in at Bramall Lane, such as Nils Zatterstrom, Christian Nwachukwu and Jefferson Caceres.

Caceres has since moved on to Scottish side Dunfermline Athletic, which Bord also owns alongside fellow poker player Evan Sofer (although he's not a known involvement in the Wednesday consortium).

Bord also has stakes in Spanish second-tier side Cordoba and Bulgarian club Septemvri Sofia.

According to an article from the Guardian, a source close to Bord describes him as a "mini Tony Bloom," who has plenty of success in scouting overseas talent and bringing them to the forefront of Premier League action at Brighton and Hove Albion.

There are clear red flags at Sheffield United due to Sport Circuit Science's involvement, but if Bord can be even half as successful as the Brighton owner at Hillsborough, then Sheffield Wednesday fans can be excited about the prospect of him taking over.

Felix Roemer

James Bord has a couple of people beside him in the consortium currently. The first is 31-year-old Felix Roemer.

Roemer is a shareholder in Short Circuit Science, but he's described by the Sheffield Star as someone who has a more behind-the-scenes role in helping mould the company's data-driven approach.

The article goes on to state that, as a teenager, Roemer took an interest in how virtual economies worked in online games, spotting patterns in player-driven markets. Those interests eventually translated into real-world business and investment.

So, his role is mainly on how data is used within the game, rather than how the game is played, and he's developed systems that use data to analyse performance and use that evidence to support recruitment.

Alsharif Faisal Bin Jamil

Alsharif Faisal Bin Jamil, a reported member of the Jordanian royal family, is the group CEO of Short Circuit Science and is described as the consortium's chief executive.

The 37-year-old has academic qualifications from the likes of the University of Oxford, Imperial College London and the University of London, and, according to the Sheffield Star, that has supported a career that spanned private equity investing, board leadership roles and involvement in emerging enterprises.

He's been a partner at Milano Investment Partners since 2018, which targets companies in fashion, food, lifestyle and technology sectors to support their growth.

Bin Jamil is also a board member at Ingame Sports, which develops in-game sports prediction gambling products, and has served as CEO of Infinity Sports, and has been credited with playing a 'central role' in ensuring that Bahrain is an emerging player in global sports.

Additionally, he's been involved at the board level with Cordoba and Dunfermline alongside James Bord. At Dunfermline, he uses his skills in strategy to help with the long-term planning at the club.

Sheffield Wednesday will be starting afresh in League One next season. The likelihood is that they'll have to buy an almost entirely new squad, and will have plans to return to the Championship as soon as possible.

Alongside Bord, it seems that people are being put in place to ensure the best chance of that happening.

Dunfermline are currently battling for a play-off place in the Scottish second tier following a near-relegation last season, and Owls fans will be hoping that the same turnaround can be made at Hillsborough if their takeover bid goes through.