Member of Jordanian royal family revealed as key part of potential new Sheffield Wednesday ownership group

A member of the Jordanian royal family is one of the potential new owners of Sheffield Wednesday.

It was known that James Bord, who co-owns Dunfermline Athletic, is leading a consortium which is set to take over at the turmoiled Owls.

However, up until now, the other parties in the group, which has been named as preferred bidder, have not been named.

And Daily Mail Sport understands that chief executive of the group is Alsharif Faisal Bin Jamil – a Jordanian investment executive and member of the country’s royal Family.

Faisal is a graduate of Oxford University and Imperial College London. He is also CEO of Infinity Sports and is CEO of Short Circuit, which Bord runs.

Bord’s bid has been chosen despite offers from several other parties, including former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.

Part of the potential new ownership consortium led by James Bord, (left), is Alsharif Faisal Bin Jamil (right), who is a Jordanian investment executive and member of their royal family

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He is a London-born former poker player who started his career working for gambling firms and who won around £3.2m on the professional circuit.

He now runs a data company, Short Circuit Science, which provides analytical content to clients which have included Sheffield United.

Bord also has a stake in Spanish Segunda Division side Cordoba CF and Bulgarian club Septemvri Sofia.

The bid will need to pass the EFL’s Owners and Directors Test before being ratified. Bord’s group has put down a £2.5m non-refundable deposit, which will go towards running costs at the Championship club until the deal is completed.

The statement from the group in full, reads: ‘The consortium is a privately funded group of investors led by James Bord and Felix Roemer. The consortium focuses on long-term, responsible investment supported solely by its own capital, with an emphasis on stable governance, operational discipline and data-informed decision making. 

‘It brings together complementary expertise across technology, analytics and high growth ventures to support sustainable performance in the organisations with which it engages.

‘The consortium supports a long-term sustainable ownership of this historic club and is committed to preserving and enhancing its legacy. It aims to strengthen Sheffield Wednesday to enable the club to regain its position at the pinnacle of the game. 

The group added that they had come forward following ‘some unfortunate speculation and misinformation circulating in recent days regarding the preferred bidder for Sheffield Wednesday FC, due to restrictions placed on the consortium during the current process’.

They said: ‘While we recognise that there will still be many questions to be answered, we are unable to engage fully at this stage or provide a running commentary on the process. We recognise the frustration that this may cause fans of this great football club but hope they understand the limitations placed on the consortium at this particular point in time.’

Wednesday are destined for League One, and are bottom of the table on minus nine points and 32 adrift from safety following deductions.

The offer is understood to exceed the minimum requirement to creditors under EFL rules, which would mean the club would not carry a 15-point penalty into next season.