LONDON: Kuwaiti-Pakistani businessman Muizz Ahmed Mirza is set to take control of English non-league football club Plymouth Parkway FC through his international education company, with plans to take the club into the English Football League within the next decade.
At a press conference in London with the Plymouth Parkway FC management, Mirza confirmed that heads of terms have been signed with the club, beginning the process towards a new ownership and operating structure.
Mirza, who was born in Karachi and is based in Kuwait, told Geo News that his ambition is to develop Parkway into a professional club while maintaining its existing identity and connection with the local community.
“My dream is within the next 10 years to see this club reach the EFL,” Mirza said, outlining plans to make Parkway a full-time club within the next 12 to 18 months and invest in its academy, infrastructure and stadium facilities.
Plymouth Parkway, founded in 1988, play at Bolitho Park and currently compete in the Southern League Premier Division South, the seventh tier of English football. They are four divisions below their city neighbours Plymouth Argyle.
Mirza said his organisation has supported more than 3,000 international students and developed relationships with more than 600 university partners around the world.
Mirza said his plans would bring together education and football, including programmes offering students opportunities to play competitive football while learning about the management and commercial operation of a football club.
He stressed that investment would not come at the expense of Parkway’s history and local character.
“Plymouth Parkway already has something money cannot create: history, identity, passionate people and a community that cares about its football club,” Mirza said. “My responsibility is not to replace that, but to protect it, build on it and give those people even more reasons to be proud of Parkway.”
Parkway chairman Mark Russell and vice-chairman Gez Baggott said the agreement represented an important step for the club and could help introduce Parkway to new international audiences while keeping it firmly rooted in Plymouth.
Mirza said he was already in talks with the Pakistan Football League (PFL) over potential collaboration.
He said that as Plymouth Parkway develops under his ownership, he would seek to create internships, training and other opportunities for young people from Pakistan at the English club.
Mirza said he also wanted the club to provide a pathway, where possible, for the new generation of British-Pakistani footballers, helping talented players gain exposure, experience and opportunities within the English football system.