SINGAPORE: In the unglamorous world of English football's sixth tier, where crowds number in the hundreds rather than tens of thousands, Joseph Phua is attempting something unusual: building a football club that will also revitalise its small town.
"We are not in the business of running clubs," the Singaporean investor said plainly. "What we're trying to do here is to bring all the parties together and support the endeavours financially, and hopefully within the short to medium term, hand control back to the community.”
It's a strikingly different vision from the celebrity ownership models that have dominated football headlines – and Phua knows it.
Turn Sports Investments, the sports arm of Phua’s private investment firm Turn Capital, completed its takeover of King's Lynn Town Football Club on Nov 27. The National League North side sits five tiers below the Premier League, in a town of 47,000 people in Norfolk, eastern England.
The purchase price remains undisclosed, bound by a non-disclosure agreement with former owner Stephen Cleeve, who had controlled the club since 2016.
While actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have turned Welsh club Wrexham into a promotion machine and streaming sensation, and Singaporean businessmen Peter Lim and Joseph Tey have faced criticism for their handling of Valencia and Sampdoria respectively, Phua is charting a more measured course.
When it comes to league football in the UK, spending money does not guarantee promotion to the next tier, Phua told CNA.
“Even if you were to invest the maximum or the highest amounts, it still doesn't guarantee promotion season to season," he said. "Definitely the losses just pile up.”
Phua, the chairman of both Turn Capital and Turn Sports Investment, aims to prioritise long-term financial sustainability over chasing promotions. His firm could easily triple or quadruple its investment to acquire a strong playing roster, Phua said, but that would leave the town saddled with an unsustainable playing budget once outside investors step back.
“Results do matter, but we would not risk short-term results for long-term gains,” said Phua.
Phua's background offers few obvious clues to his interest in lower-league English football. He grew up in Singapore but furthered his studies at New York University's Stern School of Business and the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.
He went on to build his career across tech, media and hospitality – from dating app Paktor to 17Live, now the largest livestreaming platform in Japan and Taiwan.
“What inspired me was always the idea of building things from scratch, built on financial fundamentals and discipline, taking overlooked opportunities and turning them into something bigger,” he said.
Two years ago, Turn Capital identified sports as "an interesting sector", and bankers identified King’s Lynn as a potential asset. The firm developed a matrix considering over 20 data points to evaluate potential investments, though Phua admits the final decision came down to instinct as much as analysis.
“You're going to speak to the people, and then you have to kind of try to feel your way around it, because a lot of times the data doesn't tell the full story,” he said.
Beyond football, Phua saw a heritage town that had been overlooked, sitting within reach of affluent areas like Cambridge and Sandringham, where King Charles visits for holidays.
The main grandstand of the club's home ground. (Photo: Facebook/King's Lynn Town Football Club)
“It is geographically in a location that can actually benefit significantly from the nearby populous and more affluent towns,” said Phua.
Turn Sports Investments first invested in the club in January 2024, injecting fresh funds for expansion, player development and acquisitions. It worked alongside Cleeve for over a year before assuming full control.
The new ownership has moved quickly to embed the club within its community – getting locals involved in the naming of the stadium, the running of food and beverage services, and the team's line-up.
“We've made it a point to focus on investing in players from the town and bringing them back to the town so that the community can rally behind their own,” he said. Previously, the squad drew players from across the UK.
“It was more about finding the best players, and where they came from would not be a factor. Now, that is a factor. If they are local, we will go and seek them out,” said Phua.
Club captain Michael Clunan. (Photo: Facebook/King's Lynn Town Football Club)
He cited the example of club captain Michael Clunan, who was from Scunthorpe United last season. Despite Scunthorpe earning promotion to a higher tier, Phua's team convinced the midfielder to return to his hometown of King's Lynn instead.
Off the pitch, the changes run deeper. In July, local business Docherty Roofing and Cladding acquired naming rights to the club's stadium, now called the Docherty Walks Stadium. Match-day food and beverage operations have been restructured as a joint venture with two local providers.
Most significantly, the Blue and Gold Supporters' Trust – representing the club's fanbase – has become a shareholder with greater say over the club's long-term direction.
The club's stadium is now called the Docherty Walks Stadium, after local business Docherty Roofing and Cladding acquired the naming rights. (Photo: Facebook/King's Lynn Town Football Club)
“It's a lot about involving the community and making this ideally a centrepiece of the town,” said Phua, drawing parallels to Singapore's grassroots-driven football scene of the 1980s and 1990s.
“It’s just basically accelerating the process of bringing more and more people involved, by getting skin in the game.”
Phua's strategy extends to talent development. Rather than purchasing established players at premium prices, the club is investing in 17- and 18-year-olds who could appreciate in value – creating what he calls "a positive feedback loop" where young players see King's Lynn as a pathway to higher levels.
He also wants their matches to be livestreamed – something Phua is familiar with given that 17Live is the biggest livestreaming firm in Japan and Taiwan. While collective broadcasting rights complicate full livestreaming, the club has launched audio commentary for every match, with plans to expand its digital presence.
“The idea is to make it easier for fans near and far to follow the team, and to give the club a bigger digital footprint,” he said.
Managing the club from Singapore presents obvious challenges. Phua said he has addressed this through strong local leadership, such as with club CEO Bal Srai – also CEO of Turn Sports Investments – based in London.
“Another challenge is that lower-league football is financially fragile, so discipline is essential," Phua added. "You can’t just throw money at the problem; you have to build sustainability step by step.”
Reactions from fans to the new ownership have been cautiously optimistic.
King's Lynn Town Football Club fans watching the team play at their home ground. (Photo: Facebook/King's Lynn Town Football Club)
“I think the new owners have the interests of the club at heart and I was happy with the recruitment at the start of the season. They have stabilised the club’s financial position,” said Chris Burton, a 66-year-old retiree who has supported the club for over 50 years.
But he wants more visible engagement from the management team at the stadium.
“We need a ‘we’re all in this together’ feel. It helps unite and construct a bond between players and fans and ownership. We need to see more of that. Definitely the new ownership needs to build a relationship with the fans. It’s paramount in a small-town team,” he said.
Andy Whyte, a project manager who has followed the club since 2017, called for transparency while cautioning against unrealistic expectations.
“I would ask them to continue to provide regular updates. This will ensure fans continue to support the journey they are on,” he said. But he also urged Phua to remember that football “isn’t necessarily a business where you make a profit”.
Both fans emphasised the importance of avoiding relegation while aspiring to return to the National League – one tier higher – where King's Lynn briefly competed before financial constraints forced them down.
“Being a very small club in a remote part of the country, it will be difficult, but achievable,” Burton said.
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"We are not in the business of running clubs," the Singaporean investor said plainly. "What we're trying to do here is to bring all the parties together and support the endeavours financially, and hopefully within the short to medium term, hand control back to the community.”
It's a strikingly different vision from the celebrity ownership models that have dominated football headlines – and Phua knows it.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF FOOTBALL STORY
Turn Sports Investments, the sports arm of Phua’s private investment firm Turn Capital, completed its takeover of King's Lynn Town Football Club on Nov 27. The National League North side sits five tiers below the Premier League, in a town of 47,000 people in Norfolk, eastern England.
The purchase price remains undisclosed, bound by a non-disclosure agreement with former owner Stephen Cleeve, who had controlled the club since 2016.
While actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have turned Welsh club Wrexham into a promotion machine and streaming sensation, and Singaporean businessmen Peter Lim and Joseph Tey have faced criticism for their handling of Valencia and Sampdoria respectively, Phua is charting a more measured course.
Related:
When it comes to league football in the UK, spending money does not guarantee promotion to the next tier, Phua told CNA.
“Even if you were to invest the maximum or the highest amounts, it still doesn't guarantee promotion season to season," he said. "Definitely the losses just pile up.”
Phua, the chairman of both Turn Capital and Turn Sports Investment, aims to prioritise long-term financial sustainability over chasing promotions. His firm could easily triple or quadruple its investment to acquire a strong playing roster, Phua said, but that would leave the town saddled with an unsustainable playing budget once outside investors step back.
“Results do matter, but we would not risk short-term results for long-term gains,” said Phua.
WHY KING’S LYNN
Phua's background offers few obvious clues to his interest in lower-league English football. He grew up in Singapore but furthered his studies at New York University's Stern School of Business and the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.
He went on to build his career across tech, media and hospitality – from dating app Paktor to 17Live, now the largest livestreaming platform in Japan and Taiwan.
“What inspired me was always the idea of building things from scratch, built on financial fundamentals and discipline, taking overlooked opportunities and turning them into something bigger,” he said.
Two years ago, Turn Capital identified sports as "an interesting sector", and bankers identified King’s Lynn as a potential asset. The firm developed a matrix considering over 20 data points to evaluate potential investments, though Phua admits the final decision came down to instinct as much as analysis.
“You're going to speak to the people, and then you have to kind of try to feel your way around it, because a lot of times the data doesn't tell the full story,” he said.
Beyond football, Phua saw a heritage town that had been overlooked, sitting within reach of affluent areas like Cambridge and Sandringham, where King Charles visits for holidays.
The main grandstand of the club's home ground. (Photo: Facebook/King's Lynn Town Football Club)
“It is geographically in a location that can actually benefit significantly from the nearby populous and more affluent towns,” said Phua.
Turn Sports Investments first invested in the club in January 2024, injecting fresh funds for expansion, player development and acquisitions. It worked alongside Cleeve for over a year before assuming full control.
BRINGING THE TOWN BACK TO THE TEAM
The new ownership has moved quickly to embed the club within its community – getting locals involved in the naming of the stadium, the running of food and beverage services, and the team's line-up.
“We've made it a point to focus on investing in players from the town and bringing them back to the town so that the community can rally behind their own,” he said. Previously, the squad drew players from across the UK.
“It was more about finding the best players, and where they came from would not be a factor. Now, that is a factor. If they are local, we will go and seek them out,” said Phua.
Club captain Michael Clunan. (Photo: Facebook/King's Lynn Town Football Club)
He cited the example of club captain Michael Clunan, who was from Scunthorpe United last season. Despite Scunthorpe earning promotion to a higher tier, Phua's team convinced the midfielder to return to his hometown of King's Lynn instead.
Off the pitch, the changes run deeper. In July, local business Docherty Roofing and Cladding acquired naming rights to the club's stadium, now called the Docherty Walks Stadium. Match-day food and beverage operations have been restructured as a joint venture with two local providers.
Most significantly, the Blue and Gold Supporters' Trust – representing the club's fanbase – has become a shareholder with greater say over the club's long-term direction.
The club's stadium is now called the Docherty Walks Stadium, after local business Docherty Roofing and Cladding acquired the naming rights. (Photo: Facebook/King's Lynn Town Football Club)
“It's a lot about involving the community and making this ideally a centrepiece of the town,” said Phua, drawing parallels to Singapore's grassroots-driven football scene of the 1980s and 1990s.
“It’s just basically accelerating the process of bringing more and more people involved, by getting skin in the game.”
THE LONG GAME
Phua's strategy extends to talent development. Rather than purchasing established players at premium prices, the club is investing in 17- and 18-year-olds who could appreciate in value – creating what he calls "a positive feedback loop" where young players see King's Lynn as a pathway to higher levels.
He also wants their matches to be livestreamed – something Phua is familiar with given that 17Live is the biggest livestreaming firm in Japan and Taiwan. While collective broadcasting rights complicate full livestreaming, the club has launched audio commentary for every match, with plans to expand its digital presence.
“The idea is to make it easier for fans near and far to follow the team, and to give the club a bigger digital footprint,” he said.
Managing the club from Singapore presents obvious challenges. Phua said he has addressed this through strong local leadership, such as with club CEO Bal Srai – also CEO of Turn Sports Investments – based in London.
“Another challenge is that lower-league football is financially fragile, so discipline is essential," Phua added. "You can’t just throw money at the problem; you have to build sustainability step by step.”
WHAT THE FANS THINK
Reactions from fans to the new ownership have been cautiously optimistic.
King's Lynn Town Football Club fans watching the team play at their home ground. (Photo: Facebook/King's Lynn Town Football Club)
“I think the new owners have the interests of the club at heart and I was happy with the recruitment at the start of the season. They have stabilised the club’s financial position,” said Chris Burton, a 66-year-old retiree who has supported the club for over 50 years.
But he wants more visible engagement from the management team at the stadium.
“We need a ‘we’re all in this together’ feel. It helps unite and construct a bond between players and fans and ownership. We need to see more of that. Definitely the new ownership needs to build a relationship with the fans. It’s paramount in a small-town team,” he said.
Andy Whyte, a project manager who has followed the club since 2017, called for transparency while cautioning against unrealistic expectations.
“I would ask them to continue to provide regular updates. This will ensure fans continue to support the journey they are on,” he said. But he also urged Phua to remember that football “isn’t necessarily a business where you make a profit”.
Both fans emphasised the importance of avoiding relegation while aspiring to return to the National League – one tier higher – where King's Lynn briefly competed before financial constraints forced them down.
“Being a very small club in a remote part of the country, it will be difficult, but achievable,” Burton said.
Continue reading...