Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour explains why he bought into MLS and what soccer's global future looks like

Sir Mohamed Mansour, the Egyptian billionaire chairman of Man Capital and San Diego FC, has given his most detailed account yet of his global soccer ownership philosophy in a recent fireside conversation with CNN's Coy Wire recorded at Sports Business Journal's Business of Soccer conference in Atlanta.

The conversation, released as an episode of the SBJ On Stage podcast, covers the thinking behind his acquisition of Major League Soccer's 30th franchise, his ownership of Denmark's FC Nordsjaelland through the Right to Dream global soccer development organisation, and why he views the United States as one of the most compelling long-term markets for the sport.

Mansour paid a reported $500 million for the San Diego FC expansion franchise, making it one of the largest deals ever for a soccer club at the time. The club, which began play in the 2025 MLS season at Snapdragon Stadium, is co-owned alongside the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, the first Native American tribe to hold an ownership stake in professional soccer in the United States. San Diego Padres baseball star Manny Machado is also part of the ownership group.

On global soccer's trajectory, Mansour told SBJ he views the sport's long-term arc in the United States as compelling and durable. The 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico and set to be the largest in history with 48 teams, has accelerated mainstream American engagement with the sport in ways that Mansour says will outlast the tournament itself.

Right to Dream, which Mansour controls through Man Capital, is a global soccer community combining elite academies, professional clubs and development partnerships. Its academy network is based in Ghana and has produced players who have competed at the highest levels of European football. FC Nordsjaelland, Right to Dream's Danish club, has served as a talent pipeline for the broader ownership network.

Mansour, 75, is the chairman of Man Capital LLP, the London-based family investment office through which he manages a portfolio spanning consumer goods, automotive distribution, real estate and technology alongside his sports investments. The Mansour Group, the Egyptian family conglomerate he chairs alongside brothers Yasseen and Youssef, is the sole distributor of General Motors vehicles in Egypt and several African and Middle Eastern markets, and distributes Caterpillar industrial equipment in Egypt. Forbes estimated his net worth at approximately $3.6 billion.

The 2026 World Cup's North American venue locations include matches at Los Angeles's SoFi Stadium, New York's MetLife Stadium, Dallas's AT&T Stadium and San Francisco's Levi's Stadium, with the final at MetLife. San Diego is not among the host cities, but its status as an MLS market places it directly in the commercial expansion footprint the tournament is designed to accelerate.