Soccer jersey retailer Classic Football Shirts has drawn new investment from actor Rob McElhenney and USWNT Star Alex Morgan, the company announced Thursday.
This comes on the heels of a $38 million growth equity investment from The Chernin Group announced in May.
CFS, which was founded in 2006 by two University students and has been profitable each year since its founding, sells unique and rare soccer jerseys to fans and collectors across more than 100 countries via its website and storefronts in England. The Chernin investment represented the first outside investment in the company’s history.
In addition to McElhenney, co-owner of Wrexham A.F.C., who is investing along with his More Better Ventures fund, Morgan’s Trybe Ventures, Wasserman Ventures and former USMNT and Premier League player Stu Holden were announced as members of the additions to the company’s investor list.
“Classic Football Shirts has built something truly special — an organically grown, highly profitable brand that resonates deeply with football fans around the world,” McElhenney said. “I felt this from the moment I purchased my first shirt over three years ago. This is an incredible opportunity to deliver the best possible experience to football fans and collectors worldwide.”
The company’s growth has accelerated since TCG’s investment in May, with its annual growth rate surpassing 100 percent as it pushes into the North American market, according to the company, which opened its first brick-and-mortar retail location in the U.S. this year on Canal Street.
Some of Chernin’s past investments in consumer businesses include sports gambling media company The Action Network, Barstool Sports and Collectors.
“Our new partners are pioneering investors in global businesses that intersect sports, entertainment and culture. Each one brings incredible foresight, a passion for the game, and a true understanding of football culture,” said Doug Bierton, co-founder and CEO of Classic Football Shirts, in a release.
The company has grown to employ nearly 200 people and also boasts one of the largest collection of game-worn and rare high-end jerseys in the world, numbering more than 7,000 units.
The company acquired its “vault” using proceeds from the business and has never offered any for sale, utilizing the collection instead for content and storytelling — which it blasts out across social media to its more than 1 million combined followers across Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. One past collaboration featured a a video with David Beckham in which he toured the CFS vault and viewed “his career in shirts.”.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.