Joseph Portelli, through his company JP Football Holdings Ltd., has become the new owner of the Italian football club Ars et Labor Ferrara, formerly known as SPAL.
In a statement published on Thursday afternoon, JP Football Holdings Limited stated that an agreement was signed in Rome on Thursday with the previous owners, Juan Martin Molinari and Andres Adolfo Marengo, for the football club acquisition to take place with immediate effect.
In a message to the Italian side’s loyal fans, JP Football Holdings Ltd. wished to send a clear message: “we are totally committed to returning Ars et Labor Ferrara to the level that its history and tradition deserve.”
“We will honour the Club’s glorious past and guide our every decision according to the values of Transparency, Integrity, Competence and Ambition – principles that have always characterised our successes, both in the world of football and in business,” the statement read.
The football club, commonly known as SPAL, was founded in 1907 and had several stings playing in Italy’s top flight, Serie A. SPAL’s best league finish in its long, and turbulent, history came in the 1959/60 season, when it finished fifth in the Serie A. SPAL’s golden days in the early 1960s saw them as a competitive side in Italy’s highest level of football; during this time, the club even reached a Coppia Italia final, which it lost to Napoli.
The football club played as recently as 2020 and reached the Coppia Italia quarterfinals as a Serie B side in the 2020/21 season. SPAL was relegated to Serie C at the end of the 2022/23 season.
The 2000s have been a time of financial struggle for this football club. The club went bankrupt in 2005 and once again in 2012 before suffering more financial issues in July last year.
This time last year, SPAL announced that due to these financial difficulties, it would not play in the 2025/26 Serie C season. Part of this decision boiled down to struggles to attract new investors. SPAL then went into liquidation, from which Ars et Labor Ferrara emerged from the ashes.
JP Football Holdings said that its objective “is to guarantee solid operational and financial stability, which will form the foundations for sustainable growth and consistent success, both on and off the pitch.”
Marcel Bonnici has been appointed as the new CEO of Ars et Labor Ferrara FC. Further
Joseph Portelli, through his company JP Football Holdings Ltd., has become the new owner of the Italian football club Ars et Labor Ferrara, formerly known as SPAL.
In a statement published on Thursday afternoon, JP Football Holdings Limited stated that an agreement was signed in Rome on Thursday with the previous owners, Juan Martin Molinari and Andres Adolfo Marengo, for the football club acquisition to take place with immediate effect.
In a message to the Italian side's loyal fans, JP Football Holdings Ltd. wished to send a clear message: "we are totally committed to returning Ars et Labor Ferrara to the level that its history and tradition deserve."
"We will honour the Club's glorious past and guide our every decision according to the values of Transparency, Integrity, Competence and Ambition - principles that have always characterised our successes, both in the world of football and in business," the statement read.
The football club, commonly known as SPAL, was founded in 1907 and had several stings playing in Italy's top flight, Serie A. SPAL's best league finish in its long, and turbulent, history came in the 1959/60 season, when it finished fifth in the Serie A. SPAL's golden days in the early 1960s saw them as a competitive side in Italy's highest level of football; during this time, the club even reached a Coppia Italia final, which it lost to Napoli.
The football club played as recently as 2020 and reached the Coppia Italia quarterfinals as a Serie B side in the 2020/21 season. SPAL was relegated to Serie C at the end of the 2022/23 season.
The 2000s have been a time of financial struggle for this football club. The club went bankrupt in 2005 and once again in 2012 before suffering more financial issues in July last year.
This time last year, SPAL announced that due to these financial difficulties, it would not play in the 2025/26 Serie C season. Part of this decision boiled down to struggles to attract new investors. SPAL then went into liquidation, from which Ars et Labor Ferrara emerged from the ashes.
JP Football Holdings said that its objective "is to guarantee solid operational and financial stability, which will form the foundations for sustainable growth and consistent success, both on and off the pitch."
Marcel Bonnici has been appointed as the new CEO of Ars et Labor Ferrara FC. Further appointments within the club's football structure will be announced in the coming weeks, JP Football Holdings stated.
Over the coming days, JP Football Holdings representatives intend to meet the club's supporters, "who represent the beating heart and the most precious asset of this Club." It added that this will serve as an opportunity for the group to present its vision for how it intends to guide the football club back to glory.
JP Football Holdings concluded its statement by telling fans that they are its "absolute priority."
"With their support and their passion, we are confident that together we can build a future full of satisfaction and success, worthy of the extraordinary history and legitimate ambitions of Ars et Labor Ferrara," the group wrote.
Portelli has been looking to acquire an Italian football club for some time, with two bids for two separate Serie D sides falling through in the last four months.
In January this year, Portelli's bid to take over Serie D side Siena Calcio, for €1.3 million, was rejected by the club's owners. Siena played in the Serie A as recently as the early 2010s.
Earlier this March, the Gozitan tycoon bid to acquire Serie D club Nocerina Calcio though Portelli withdrew his bid following due diligence checks.
Prior to this acquisition, Gozitan development magnate Joseph Portelli was an already established character in Maltese football for the recent successes achieved in charge of Ħamrun Spartans FC. Just a few months ago, Ħamrun Spartans made Maltese football history when it participated in the UEFA Conference League - becoming the first ever Maltese side to play in the main phase of a European club competition, on top of the several league titles won in recent years to boot.
Before he became President of Ħamrun Spartans FC, Portelli was the President of his hometown football club, Nadur Youngsters FC. In April 2022, Portelli, already in his forties, was substituted onto the pitch in Nadur Youngsters' final game of the season to make his first and only appearance in Maltese/Gozitan football. In this game, he even scored a penalty and the game finished in a 1-1 draw, with Nadur Youngsters raising the Gozo First Division trophy aloft immediately afterwards.