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Sunday, 20 March 2022

Who’s bidding for Chelsea FC? + Sub-Saharan Africa needs USD 350 to solve electricity issues

The short list of Chelsea FC’s potential owners: Big names in both the sports and business worlds are lining up with their bids to buy Chelsea FC from Russian b’naire Roman Abramovich, who’s selling the English Premier League club after his inclusion on the sanctions list imposed by Western countries. The short list of potential buyers, according to Bloomberg, includes:

  • Part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team Todd Boehly, who reportedly bid for the club back in 2019 but was turned down by Abramovich;
  • UK property developer Nick Candy, who promises to involve Chelsea fans in the running of the club if he buys it;
  • Hedge fund Citadel founder Ken Griffin, who has teamed up with the family owners of the Chicago Clubs;
  • Former chairman of Liverpool FC and British Airways Martin Broughton, who claims to have global backing from investors;
  • US asset manager Oaktree Capital;
  • New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.

Sub-Saharan Africa needs USD 350 bn between now and 2030 to solve its long-standing electricity access problem, according to a Wood Mackenzie report carried by Business Insider. Around 600 mn people in the region still do not have access to electricity, mainly due to underinvestment in electricity infrastructure. To solve the problem, countries must launch further electricity grid link-ups as well as off-grid systems using renewable energy sources such as solar power. The growing prevalence of renewable energy and its lowered costs could help bridge the investment gap and provide reliable and affordable energy access across the region. This comes at a crucial time as electricity demand in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to increase nearly eight-fold by 2050.

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