Posted on 2023-06-092023-06-09

For Immediate Release: Turkish media mogul Acun Ilıcalı, the owner of the global media company ACUNMEDYA, has become the majority shareholder in Shelbourne Football Club.

Dublin, Ireland: Shelbourne Football Club has announced that Acun Ilıcalı has become the majority shareholder of the club. Acun Ilıcalı has founded one of the biggest independent media and entertainment companies, empowered with the vision to deliver inspiring and creative content worldwide.

This investment will be used to support the growth and development of the club by investing in the men’s and women’s first teams, the academy, and its facilities with an ambition to make Shelbourne FC Ireland’s most successful football club. The deal is expected to bring additional benefit as it will create material synergy between Shelbourne FC and Hull City FC, which is fully owned by Acun Ilıcalı.

After the investment, existing shareholders will continue to be investors in the Club and the parties will collaborate closely for the future success of the club

The founder and Chairman of ACUNMEDYA, the owner of the Hull City FC and the new Chairman of Shelbourne FC, Acun Ilıcalı said; “I am deeply impressed by the passion and motivation of the Shelbourne FC family and we believe that the club offers great potential to succeed in European football. 

Our vision for Shelbourne FC is to become the leader of the League of Ireland and demonstrate consistent success in European competitions.  We believe that our investment and commitment will shape the future of the football in our academy, which will become the most modern academy structure in Ireland. 

We want to scout, recruit and train talented prospects from all over Ireland and Europe to be part of our family. With our global expertise and vision in football, media and entertainment verticals, we aim to bring new energy to Irish football and Shelbourne FC, one of the oldest clubs in Ireland, by further strengthening the deep-rooted bond between the fans and the club, like we did in Hull City.”

Welcoming the deal, Andrew Doyle, who takes up the role of vice-chairman Shelbourne FC, said: “This is a transformational deal for Shelbourne Football Club and a huge boost to our ambitions to make Shelbourne Ireland’s most successful football club both domestically and in Europe. 

The investment will give us the resources to make significant investment in club facilities, the men’s and women’s senior teams and the academy.  This partnership will help us finalise ongoing projects and seize many other opportunities that will benefit our senior teams, academy and facilities. 

There will be huge opportunities to leverage the synergies with the management expertise and resources of ACUNMEDYA ,Shelbourne and Hull City in ways that can be very significant for everyone involved.”

ACUN ILICALI

Acun Ilıcalı is a television icon, a broadcaster, an entrepreneur, an international TV producer and a businessman. He is the owner of TV channels TV8 and TV8,5, Türkiye’s digital platform EXXEN, production company ACUNMEDYA which has been broadcasting in several countries, including Türkiye, the USA, Mexico, Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Balkans, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic. The group does highly successful productions for leading television channels worldwide, and he develops broadcasting strategies for the channels he works with. Furthermore, he is the owner of the format of competition program Exatlon, which is the first sports reality format in the world.

Several documentaries, books and programs have been made about Ilıcalı’s life, covering his career from being a sports reporter to become a media mogul.

He has been awarded more than 1,000 awards in various categories and has been described as one of the most reliable names in Türkiye according to the surveys. In the period from 2018 to 2022, he was listed among the 500 most influential businessmen in the media and entertainment sector by Variety magazine.

Along with his successful media projects, Ilıcalı has made considerable global investments in the OTT platform/digital-platform, sports, textile, e-trade, education, building/construction, health, cosmetics sector and football, being his most recent venture with the takeover of Hull City in 2022.

ENDS

For more information

Darren Cleary 
Shelbourne FC 
Head of Media and Communications
Darren.Cleary@shelbournefc.ie 

Posted on 2023-06-082023-06-08

The Reds return to Tolka Park tomorrow for the final time before the summer break as Sligo Rovers provide the opposition. (7:45pm KO, live on LOITV).

Shels boss Damien Duff will have to plan without Kian Leavy and Paddy Barrett who remain out of action. 

Reds boss Damien Duff delivered a squad update after training in the AUL on Thursday and revealed Brian McManus is also facing a prolonged spell on the sidelines. He told ShelbourneFC.ie: “Paddy Barrett and Kian Leavy are still out, we’ll be missing Brian McManus too, he has had an operation on his knee. 

“Brian has been struggling with a chronic knee issue, which is why you haven’t seen as much of Brian as we would’ve liked. We decided to get it addressed now. Not sure of the timeframe, but it could be around 8-12 weeks minimum. Brian is a big loss for us, he’s a great boy, we love him to bits, we have to think for his welfare, we need to sort it. He is going to be missing for a while.” 

The Reds go into the game off the back of the 3-2 win over Drogheda United at Tolka Park on Monday, that followed a solid away performances and points at the Brandywell against Derry City and Dalymount against Bohemian FC.

Duff is pleased with the path the team are on: “Form wise ye we’re seeing improvements, we’re into the second half of the season now and when I think back and how many times did I say last year where ‘oh we played well and didn’t pick up the points’, for a while it was was a lot of hard luck stories with us. We’re maturing, yes we are performing well but know we can perform better. But we’re picking up points. That is paramount. Monday is the perfect example, the first half isn’t overly good, the second half, we do enough to get the job done.”

After a string of fine individual displays, including a goal in the win over Drogs, Duff was keen to highlight the recent contribution of Shane Griffin: “Shane has been outstanding. In team meetings and personally, I have highlighted him and he knows how much we think of him. Shane has been great, had to respond to early setbacks this year and last year, look he started pre-season slowly and then got injured, 2023 was basically a mirrored image of when he first arrived in 2022. But the minute he came back, starting in Cork, Paddys Day, he has been absolutely immense, Shane is just getting better and better. He is a standard bearer, a real leader, although he often goes under the radar I think. A quiet, silent assassin, he has been class both on and off the pitch since he came here.”

Sligo arrive at Tolka having lost five of their last six games, despite their rough run of form, Duff is braced for a backlash from the Bit O’Red:  

​​”They have some of the most coveted players in the league: Hartmann, Pijnaker, Mata, who are top players, Mata is still one of the top scorers. They have boys with experience who know how to get results in this league, who’ve been around the block, Greg Bolger is back now. We’re not fooled; they have quality and great coaches and a brilliant manager in John Russell, despite the results, they will turn it around, some team will get that backlash from them, they have quality all over the pitch. We have to ensure that we’re not that team and that it doesn’t happen at Tolka.

“We need the fans behind us from minute one, I’ve said it a good bit, it doesn’t have to be a goal; it could be a dribble that brings the place to life, even my own time on the wing, just beating a player can raise the energy in a ground, or a big tackle, like we say from Evan Caffey, Mark Coyle—they got the whole Riverside on their feet on a few occasions. It’s not just about scoring; it’s about waking up the stadium, whether it’s through a tackle or a confrontation.”

Sligo Rovers have conceded 6 goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half, only UCD (8) and Cork City (7) have conceded more in the League of Ireland this season. Duff knows a fast start tomorrow will be important:

“It’s an interesting statistic. We either start off quickly or not at all. The guys here, our focus is on starting well. It’s as simple as that: start well and finish well. Football is not complicated. This is the last game of a long, hard week. Sligo, some difficult results, they will come with fire and needing a reaction, so we need to match it and bring even more. The lads need to come with an edge, which we lacked the other day. In the first half, we were flat. Everyone believes the crowd in the Riverside will get us going, but we also need to get them going, give them something to get off their feet for, and feed off that and of course bring our own energy.”

Posted on 2023-06-012023-06-01

Team news | Shelbourne v Derry City (A)

Shels make the trip to the Ryan McBride Brandywell on Friday in the SSE Airtricity league of Ireland Premier Division.

Damien Duff’s side are looking to build on their good run of form that has seen them lose just one of their last nine league games. 

Shels go into this one off the back of a 0-0 draw with Bohs in the Dublin Derby in Dalymount Park last Friday. 

In team news, Kian Leavy and Paddy Barrett remain sidelined. Paddy Barrett will be monitored over the coming weeks, while Leavy is expected after the break.

Damien Duff provided an encouraging update on the squad, expressing optimism as the team’s long-term injured players gradually make their way back to action. Last week against Bohs saw the return of both Sean Boyd and Gavin Molloy. 

The manager told ShelbourneFC.ie: “Sean Boyd is available for selection. It is very encouraging to get him back. The important thing will be to work on his fitness and build it up over the coming weeks.”  

The fixture against Bohs also saw the return of Gavin Molloy. Duff had this to say on his performance, “It was a very solid performance all round from Gav, especially after a tough few weeks on the sidelines, we are delighted to have him back.” 

Shelbourne manager Damien Duff has highlighted the importance of a quick turnaround ahead of a busy week of fixtures. He told ShelbourneFC.ie: “We have to be on it to get 3 points, this is a big game. We have a busy week of fixtures ahead of us that means we need a quick turnaround. There are 9 points available and we’ll be looking to go for them.“ 

Derry sit atop the League of Ireland Premier Division table currently and go into this game winning four of their last five games. Damien Duff has told ShelbourneFC.ie that he expects a tough test at the Brandywell. “You know what to expect at the brandywell. It is a tough place to go, artificial surface and a big pitch, if you give Derry a chance it could mean big trouble. They’re a top side with top players.” 

Shels go into tomorrow night’s game with the best defensive record in the top flight, having conceded just 11 goals this season. Duff has highlighted the importance of his sides’ defensive solidity going into a tough week of fixtures. He told ShelbourneFC.ie: “Everything should be built on a solid defensive structure. We have that. The coaching staff have worked tirelessly with the team and lads have really bought into this. Now it’s about kicking into gear and playing with a sense of freedom,  keeping the football and looking after it”

Tickets

Tickets for the Reds upcoming clash are available here; https://www.derrycityfc.net/away-support-ticketing-v2/?shels&ftredirect=1 

TV

Watch all the action on LOITV, coverage begins from 7:35pm with kick off at 7:45pm.