Bayern Munich has been leading a bit of a revolution of its’ youth development in the last years, with the renovation of the FC Bayern Campus, the start of the Bayern World Squad project and more shaping the last few years of the club. The Red&Gold Football could also be counted as a part of this new youth development initiative, as the partnership between LAFC and Bayern, with the stated goal of “the promotion of young talents” achieved through bringing several different clubs from several different continents
on board the partnership. Officially, Uruguayan club Racing Club de Montevideo, Gambia football academy Gambino Stars Africa, Bayern and LAFC are all already partners. Now Jeju SK FC is, too.
The Red&Gold Football official website announced the K-League side’s participation in the initiative. Jeju have been in South Korea’s top flight since 2021, therefore, despite recent relegation worries, getting it on board was always going to be an attractive proposition for Red&Gold Football. The website summed up the partnership like this:
Red&Gold Football will provide Jeju SK FC a regular exchange of coaching expertise and training methods, with plans to introduce a proprietary scouting system to the club. Young players from Jeju will have the opportunity to train regularly in Europe and the United States, participate in international tournaments, and showcase their talents at the highest level.
The question now is what the nature of the partnership is. Is it a takeover or an agreement between two equal parties?
Managing Director of Red&Gold Football, as well as the Director of the FC Bayern Campus, spoke on the partnership: “South Korea is an important market for us. FC Bayern and LAFC have gained valuable experience with Korean players—Min-jae Kim and Heung-min Son are just the most well-known examples,” Sauer explained. “Together with Jeju SK FC, we want to nurture a new generation of talent. We sincerely thank the club management for their trust.”
BFW Analysis
The Red&Gold Football intiative dates back to over two years ago at the time of writing, having been conceived in March of 2023. Since then, three partners have been added and there has essentially radio silence in between. So what is Red&Gold Football? Well, more and more it looks like a multi club ownership model. It was always likely that this would be the case, especially considering how popular and convenient they have become, with the likes of the Red Bull, BlueCo and the City Football Group some of the most well known of such models.
But there was hope Bayern, a German club that is well versed in the sacredness of fan ownership, would not partake in this sort of business. Alas, the signs of the model are too clear to ignore. Grasshoper Zürich, for instance, may not be part of Red&Gold Football but LAFC became the majority shareholder of the Swiss club less than a year after Red&Gold was formed and Zurich immediately becoming the landing spot of several Bayern youth talents on loan. LAFC also declared the acquisition of Grasshoppers was merely “a partnership”. Racing Club de Montevideo, too, gave up their majority share with Red&Gold Football official the majority shareholder.
The exact nature of the partnership with Gambino Stars Africa and Jeju SK FC is not as clear, but the other partnerships in this initiative do not inspire trust that any agreements come without strings attached. Bayern fans have protested this arrangement but it seems the club has not decided to change course. Yet.
