United States men’s national team and Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder Giovanni Reyna has joined the ownership group of Ft. Lauderdale United FC.
Ft. Lauderdale United currently has a women’s team in the USL Super League, with the organization set to add a men’s team that will compete next season in USL League One. The latest round of investment in the club also includes other individuals besides Reyna, and according to majority owner Tommy Smith, brings the club’s valuation to $55 million.
“We are incredibly proud to welcome Gio Reyna to the Fort Lauderdale United family,” Smith said in a prepared statement. “This investment not only reflects our club’s immense potential but also solidifies our position in the American soccer landscape. With our strong youth program and state-of-the-art facilities, we are proud of our ability to create signature professional pathway on both the men’s and women’s sides.”
Ft. Lauderdale United currently has youth teams from U-11 on up — with plans to have younger teams next year — and is using the old Miami Dolphins training facility on the campus of Nova Southeastern University as hub for the organization, featuring a 7,000-seat stadium.
In addition to soccer, the club also fields teams in youth volleyball, and has plans to field a women’s professional volleyball team in 2027. Smith said that all told, there are 1,400 youth players affiliated with the organization.
“Just bringing in outside money, it’s the smart thing to do. I pretty much invested all my own capital to build the stadium, the clubs, the teams, the fields, the partnership with NSU,” Smith said in an exclusive interview with ESPN.
“Especially someone like [Gio Reyna] that has been involved in soccer, not necessarily really the money aspect of it, but ultimately kind of a proof in concept that like, ‘Hey, we’re doing this revenue, we have these teams, we have these clubs, building it up.'”
Another one of the club’s owners, Hassan Pinto, knew Gio’s father, Claudio, from his days playing youth soccer in New Jersey, and the two were teammates in their youth with the Olympic Development Program (ODP) Region I team. Pinto also was classmates with Claudio Reyna’s wife, Danielle, at UNC-Chapel Hill. That connection helped pave the way for getting Gio Reyna to invest in the club.
The expectation for Reyna, 22, is that it will give him an initial foray into sports business, the better to accumulate knowledge for a possible career after his playing days end.
“What truly sold me on Fort Lauderdale United was the ownership group’s comprehensive vision. They’re not just creating two professional teams; they’re building a complete ecosystem for player development, from the youth level all the way to the pros,” Reyna said in a statement.
“Combining that with the fantastic South Florida location and state-of-the-art facilities, it became clear this was a perfect opportunity to not only invest in the club’s success but also to help develop the future of American soccer.”
Reyna follows in the footsteps of international teammate Tyler Adams in terms of investing in professional clubs, with Adams joining the investment group of IUSL League One side Westchester SC earlier this year.
But for Ft. Lauderdale United GM Tyrone Mears, having Gio Reyna on board goes beyond the professional setup.
“I know there’s been quite a few of the American players investing into clubs over here, so it’s fantastic,” he told ESPN. “Gio, he’s got a fantastic name. He’s obviously playing in Europe, but to get that connection, I think especially with the younger demographic, Gio’s really going to help with that.”
Ft. Lauderdale United lost in the USL Super League playoff final in the league’s inaugural season last year, and is currently in second place this season after four games played.
