The owners of Ethiopia’s most successful sports club, St. George, have announced that they will sell it to fans. The sale comes weeks after prime minister Ably Ahmed broke from decades of Marxist-rooted government policies and approved the privatization of state owned monopolies.
About 2,300 fans attended a meeting to discuss the sale. St. George, which has won the Ethiopian Premier League title 13 times since 2000, is owned by the St. George Football Association. It has been propped up by prominent businessman Abennet Gebre Meskel and the Saudi billionaire Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi.
The majority of a new company’s shares will be offered to fans. Companies will also be able to buy some shares. Likely buyers include St. George Beer, owned by France’s Castel Group, a long-term sponsor.
In the meantime the 13th time defending champions withdrew from 2018 Cecafa zonal club championship. A tight title contention among five clubs, and a  knock-out third round fixture in a congested league season, led the Horse Riders to decline taking part in the zonal championship that takes place in host nation Tanzania.