New Northampton Town co-chairman Joao Xavier says his “pioneering” consortium “want to get Northampton DNA and expand it to Brazil”.
Xavier’s Sports Alpha Capital (SAC) group completed their takeover of the League Two club on Wednesday, ending Kelvin Thomas’ decade-long spell as Cobblers chairman.
Former AC Milan, Chelsea and Brazil forward Alexandre Pato is among SAC’s investors, with Tim Chamberlain serving as the club’s other co-chairman.
“No Brazilian came to England and invested in a professional football club. That’s beautiful, and this is a story we want to tell to Brazilian people,” Xavier told BBC Look East.
SAC have taken a 70% shareholding in the club, with former owners Thomas, David Bower and Nigel Le Quesne retaining a 30% shareholding.
Northampton confirmed the deal would leave them debt-free after announcing a pre-tax loss of just under £3m in April 2026.
Xavier said SAC’s acquisition did not include a 19-acre (7.7 hectare) warehouse development planned on land adjacent to the club’s Sixfields Stadium, with that land to remain in the ownership of the previous owners.
“I saw some speculation about the reasons we were investing in this club,” Xavier said. “The reason is very simple. It’s the football club.
“We are football people, we love football and we are well prepared to run this football club. We don’t have any other interest in the land or anything else. Just the football club, on and off the pitch.”
In a wide-ranging interview, Xavier also responded to a report in the Financial Times which linked Gemcorp, one of SAC’s investors, to Russia’s state arms dealer.
“We have been through a long process with the EFL and Independent Football Regulator,” he said.
“They approved not only Gemcorp, but also all the other investors in the consortium. We disclosed most of them. Of course there are investors who are more low profile.
“They don’t want to be in the spotlight, we fully respect that. That’s why we are here. We are very happy not only with Gemcorp but also the whole investor group.”
‘A new era’
SAC was previously in discussions about taking over Colchester United earlier this year but decided to pull out of a potential deal following initial talks.
Xavier said he had “great respect” for the Essex club, “but now nothing else but Northampton Town matters”.
He said: “This is a sporting town, we can see that from the rugby team [Northampton Saints], the cricket team. The location is great, the heart of the country. The stadium is beautiful and most importantly the fans.
“I remember watching a game at Cardiff City last season when the club was already relegated… and the away end was sold out. It showed me the power of this football club, because remember the football club is made of people.”
He continued: “The club needed fresh energy, fresh minds. Kelvin, David and Nigel did a great job. They saved the club 10 years ago. But now it’s time for a new era.
“We’re here to build that new era, with the fans with the staff, with the players, with the manager. We are very excited for that. We want to be successful on and off the pitch.
“We are preapred to invest in this club sustainably. We have been studying the numbers for months and months and we are very comfortable on the deal that we did and on the next coming months and years.”
The new Cobblers chairman also suggested that the new owners could look to use their “knowledge” of the Brazilian market to “eventually bring some good Brazilian players” to the club.
He said: “This is not a promise, but it is an ambition. This is not a player trading model, this is a football business.
“We need to perform on the football pitch. We are not promising we will bring Neymar, but of course this is something we want to explore.”
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