Problem solving 100%, management 98%, decision making 99%, communication 99%. Who wouldn’t want an owner with this skillset? These are the attributes of the Nigerian businessman Dozy Mmobuosi as stated on his website, giving little margin for improvement.
The EFL, however, wanted more information from the prospective buyer of Sheffield United in a deal believed to be worth more than £100m. The Blades host Tottenham on Wednesday night in the FA Cup fifth round, a welcome distraction from off-field issues that threaten to overshadow a promising season. Saturday’s win over Watford after two straight defeats leaves them second in the Championship, seven points clear of Middlesbrough in third with a game in hand. Boosting that momentum with a Cup shock would be ideal for Paul Heckingbottom.
The owner, Prince Abdullah Bin Mosaad Bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, has been keen to sell and brokered a deal with the American Henry Mauriss that fell through last year. It has since been reported that Mauriss is in prison for wire fraud. The club are under a transfer embargo over unpaid instalments on transfers, meaning they were unable to strengthen in January. Heckingbottom has spoken of being unable to make plans while the process is not complete. Mmobuosi has been built up as the next potential saviour.
Mmobuosi has agreed terms with Prince Abdullah and says he has paid a deposit but the EFL asked him and the club to answer further questions to enable it to decide whether to sanction the takeover. In a statement on 14 February the league said it had received “some evidence of source and sufficiency of funding” but that it had “raised a number of additional queries with the proposed purchaser and the club” and had been “awaiting a response on those queries for some time”.
Mmobuosi believes he has now provided the necessary information to the EFL, which said on Tuesday that matters were ongoing. Mmobuosi is said to be relaxed about the additional scrutiny because he would expect that with the purchase of any business and is staying in London until its conclusion. He and Prince Abdullah have held talks in recent days over the structure of the deal.
There is an impressive public relations campaign behind the deal and Mmobuosi’s business interests. In recent times he has been interviewed on Rio Ferdinand’s Five podcast and CNN, featured in GQ South Africa and Forbes Africa. He has stated the takeover is a matter of “when not if”. Those who have met him describe him in a positive light but there is a degree of mystery around a man reported to be a billionaire.
The wealth accrued by Mmobuosi has been through his company Tingo in Africa. He states Tingo Mobile was set up in 2001 and he has investments in agri-tech, healthcare and other sectors. Mmobuosi’s profile on the Tingo website refers to revenue “over $500m” annually for the company, making it surprising that he is not better known in his homeland.
Mmobuosi showed interest in purchasing Southampton and investing in Crystal Palace but talks did not go far before he settled on Sheffield United as the ideal opportunity for him to invest in England football.
Fans hoped when the prospective takeover came to light that Mmobuosi would be a breath of fresh air, especially given reports of billionaire status. He has talked in interviews of the plan to buy the club being formulated in a Sheffield pub over a pint of Guinness before soon holding meetings with Prince Abdullah at the Dorchester Hotel in London. Some fans are now concerned after it was revealed Tingo Mobile has had two county court judgments in England against it for unpaid debts – of £7,250 in October 2019 and £257 in March 2022 – and that there was another against Mmobuosi over unpaid debts of £30,109 in April 2021. All have been settled, Mmobuosi says.
There is also the curious case of Tingo Airlines, a company set up in 2019 and registered at an address in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, but which never owned any aircraft or carried out any flights. Images were created of planes with Tingo livery and the business was initial valued at £1bn. Mmobuosi released a statement three weeks ago to say Covid had halted his plans to create an aviation business in Europe and that he was focused on other areas, with Tingo Airlines in the process of being dissolved.
Last week numerous Twitter accounts curiously began backing Mmobuosi and the planned takeover. One user said: “I’m really looking forward to the deal of Dozy Mmobuosi buying the Sheffield United to be finalized. He has very good intentions for the club and the club will definitely take a turn for the best. A win for Nigeria is a win for Africa.” The account in question stated in its bio “DM for promo and ads”. It was the same on other accounts that published messages of support for the deal. Mmobuosi has denied any link to the tweets.
One way or another, Sheffield United are quickly growing a social media fanbase in Nigeria. Whether Mmobuosi’s proposed takeover goes through is yet to be seen but the uncertainty is doing the club no favours.
