Snoop Dogg has become the latest figure from the world of US entertainment to buy a stake in a British football club.
In the case of Snoop, it’s Swansea City who, not so long ago, were in the Premier League but who now languish in the middle of the division below, the Championship.
He becomes the latest US star to dabble with UK football. Ryan Reynolds, of course, set this trend when he and Rob McElhenney took over Wrexham in 2021. The move spawned four seasons of the docu-series Welcome To Wrexham and has had a knock-on effect on the pitch as well – Wrexham achieved their third consecutive promotion in 2024/25 and will start in the Championship themselves in August. Since then Michael B Jordan has invested in Bournemouth and Will Ferrell has put money into Leeds United.
But why Swansea, you might well ask? Nothing to do with the beautiful scenery of the Gower penisula, it seems. Nor is Snoop a noted lover of the town’s celebrated literary son, Dylan Thomas. “The story of the club and the area really struck a chord with me,” said Snoop. “This is a proud, working class city and club. An underdog that bites back, just like me.”
Tom Gorringe, the Swansea City CEO seems delighted to have the one-time gangsta rapper on board at the West Coast (of the UK) club: “It is very exciting for us as a football club to formally welcome Snoop Dogg as a co-owner and investor into Swansea City.”
“His enjoyment and love of football is well documented, and he has often spoken of a desire to get more involved in the sport. We are delighted he believes that being part of Swansea City is the right way to realise that ambition.”
Meanwhile Swansea’s ownership group have said: “To borrow a phrase from Snoop’s back catalogue, this announcement is the next episode for Swansea City as we seek to create new opportunities to boost the club’s reach and profile.”
Anyway, to celebrate Snoop’s arrival at the Welsh club, a mural of the rapper has been unveiled at the club’s ground, the inelegantly-named Swansea.com Stadium. This isn’t a scenario many could have forseen back in 1994 when Snoop was on first and second degree murder charges for a gang-related shooting and The Daily Star, infamously, urged his deportation from the UK with the headline: ‘Kick This Evil Bastard Out’.
Now, of course, Snoop is a cuddly all-round entertainer who, it seems, genuinely loves sports. Despite not actually taking part, he was one of the stars of last year’s Paris Olympics, co-commentating on the dressage, carrying the Olympic torch and trying his hand at a whole range of sports, from sprinting to judo to weightlifting.
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