Northampton has become the latest English football town to draw investment from abroad, with former Brazil forward Alexandre Pato part of the consortium that has taken control of the club. Sports Alpha Capital has completed the purchase of a 70% holding in Northampton Town, handing the group a majority stake in the League Two side.
Key takeaways
- Sports Alpha Capital now owns 70% of Northampton Town and has majority control.
- Alexandre Pato is expected to join the club’s board as a director.
- The deal was completed with Northampton Town free of debt.
- Northampton were relegated from League One last season and sit 22nd in League Two after seven matches.
- The investment group had previously explored a takeover of Colchester United in February.
A new ownership chapter in Northamptonshire
The new co-chairmen, João Xavier and Tim Chamberlain, said the project would combine a desire for progress with care for the club’s long-standing place in the local community.
“We have ambitious plans for Northampton Town,” their statement said, while stressing that ambition must be matched by financial sustainability and an understanding of what the club represents to Northampton and Northamptonshire.
Xavier and Chamberlain, founding partners of Sports Alpha Capital, also underlined that the acquisition was finalised with the club carrying no debt. Pato’s anticipated board role gives the former striker a formal place in the running of the Cobblers rather than simply an ambassadorial connection.
The immediate sporting picture is demanding. Northampton finished bottom of League One in the previous campaign, falling into the fourth tier of the English professional pyramid. After seven League Two fixtures, the team has recorded one win and stands 22nd.
Pato’s path from the pitch to the boardroom
The Northampton investment follows an earlier attempt by Sports Alpha Capital to buy Colchester United, another League Two club, in February. That proposed transaction did not proceed after Colchester decided against continuing with the process.
Pato arrives in English football ownership after a playing career that crossed South America, Europe, China and the United States. He won the FIFA Club World Cup with Internacional in 2006, the year he made his professional debut, and went on to make 27 appearances for Brazil, scoring 10 goals.
He spent six seasons at AC Milan between 2007 and 2013, before later playing in China and Major League Soccer. His only previous spell in England came in 2016, when he joined Chelsea on loan and featured twice.
In Brazil, Pato also represented Corinthians and São Paulo, the final club of his career. He announced his retirement from playing at the beginning of 2025, and now moves into a new role around the game at Sixfields.
