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Longtime morning talk show host Kelly Ripa and her husband, actor Mark Consuelos, have purchased a stake in A.S.D. Campobasso 1919, a small soccer club in the fifth tier of Italian football.
The duo has come aboard the ownership group as minority investors in the small soccer club, which they’re very excited about.
“The Campobasso project is the quintessential underdog story,” Consuelos told ESPN. “When I heard the story about these fans being at risk of losing the sport they love, Kelly and I wanted to get involved and be part of the solution.”
Campobasso, which is nicknamed “Lupi,” which means “Wolves” in Italian, was promoted to Serie C at the end of the 2020–21 season. However, due to “administrative irregularities,” the Italian Football Federation stepped in and banned the club from participating in Serie C competition.
As a result, Campobasso was forced to merge with another club and re-enter in the fifth tier of the Italian football system. The club was unsure whether or not they would be able to compete in the 2022–23 season until they were purchased by the North Sixth Group, a U.S. holding company, earlier this year.
Ripa and Consuelos are now hoping that their vested interest in the club can bring it back to financial stability and make a move up the Italian football system once again.
