Former U.S. and Premier League goalkeeper Brad Friedel is part of an American group that is trying to buy English Football League strugglers Shrewsbury Town.
Earlier this week, the club, who are currently second from bottom of League Two, announced that the Independent Football Regulator has approved the consortium’s planned takeover, without identifying who was involved.
But the suspense was ended on Friday, when a new club statement confirmed that the group is being led by Miami-based businessman Scott Davidson, with Friedel lined up to become a director.
Davidson has a background in financial services and property but, in 2021, he bought a stake in Edinburgh-based amateur team Spartans. Two years later, they were promoted to the Scottish Professional Football League for the first time in their history.
Since then, they have challenged for promotion every season, finishing second in League Two, Scottish football’s fourth tier, last season. During that time, Spartans have improved their stadium and invested in their academy.
Friedel’s track record in English football is much better known, as he played 450 Premier League games during an 18-year run that started with Liverpool in 1997, before moving to Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and, eventually, Tottenham Hotspur. As well as holding the record for Premier League appearances by a player from the Americas, he played 310 consecutive games between 2004 and 2012 — a record streak for a player from anywhere.
He also earned 82 caps for his country and went to three World Cups, most memorably in 2002, when his superb performances helped the U.S. to reach the quarter-finals.
Since retiring as a player in 2015, Friedel has had stints as head coach of the U.S. Under-19s and Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution, as well as media work on both sides of the Atlantic. He also had a short spell in 2024 as an advisor to the board of Turkish side Besiktas.
Confirmation of the names behind the proposed takeover should excite Shrewsbury Town fans, who have not had much to cheer in recent seasons, having seen their side finish bottom of League One in 2024, then 19th in League Two last season.
This slump in fortunes has led to heavy criticism of the club’s current owner, local businessman Roland Wycherley, who rescued the club from bankruptcy in 1996 and then moved them from their quaint but cramped home on the banks of the River Severn, Gay Meadow, to the all-seater New Meadow in 2007.
That appeared to set the club up for a rise up the pyramid but a third-placed finish in League One in 2018 was Shrewsbury’s high-water mark under Wycherley, who has actively been trying to sell the club for five years.
During that time, he has seen several deals collapse at the last hurdle, so the 85-year-old will know these things are not done until all contracts are signed. But the fact that he and Davidson have been willing to reveal this much information about the proposed takeover suggests both parties are confident it will proceed.
As part of the deal, two directors at Spartans, Will Dotson and Craig Graham, will also join Shrewsbury’s board.
Friedel, of course, would become the latest in a long line of North American athletes and celebrities to get involved in English football in recent years. Wrexham’s co-owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds are probably the most famous examples but other high-profile names with stakes in clubs include former NFL stars Tom Brady and JJ Watt at Birmingham City and Burnley, respectively, and rapper Snoop Dogg at Swansea City.
Friedel is not even the first USMNT star to take this journey, as fellow goalkeeper Tim Howard was a co-owner of Dagenham and Redbridge, while Landon Donovan still owns a small stake in Lincoln City.
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