The pursuit of... multi-club ownership with a social conscience

As the credits prepare to roll on The Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith strolls past the man he portrays in the blockbuster Hollywood movie, the inspiration behind a true and incredibly moving story of homelessness, perseverance and parenthood.

The film depicts Chris Gardner's real-life struggle as a single father in 1980s San Francisco - sleeping rough, at times in a subway station toilet, and juggling day care while trying to make ends meet as he strives to earn a job as a stockbroker.

If they made a sequel, it might just include the 70-year-old American's latest venture into football as part of a unique multi-club ownership model, one with a social conscience.

Originally founded in Milan, Brera Holdings have just added Serie B side Juve Stabia in the south of Italy to a growing portfolio that includes clubs in North Macedonia, Mozambique and Mongolia.

Gardner, now a motivational speaker and philanthropist after making his millions in the stock market, is part of an eclectic team at Brera. They include, in various roles, former footballers Giuseppe Rossi and Goran Pandev, Massimo Ferragamo - the son of illustrious Italian shoe designer, Salvatore - MLS founder Alan Rothenberg and a number of high-profile banking and financial experts.

"One of, if not the, most successful sports operations in the world, is the English Premier League," Gardner tells BBC Sport. "I am not going to get invited to sit at the table with the guys from Manchester United or Chelsea. But what we could do, we could build our own table and start from the ground up."

Gardner chuckles at the idea he might call Oscar-winning actor Smith, his on-screen alter ego, to join Brera's heavy-hitting cast - although there have been conversations about a new movie - and says they are not chasing "big names or cheque books".

Instead, publicly traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange, Brera hope to attract sports fans who believe in the philosophy of multi-club ownership and social impact.

"You are giving the opportunity to folks who don't have that kind of money to say, 'I want to participate, I believe in the concept, I believe in the vision, I want to be a part of it'. That's bigger!" adds Gardner.

Think of Milan, iconic stadiums and World Cup stars and, understandably, the first team you land on may not be Brera Calcio, a side founded in 2000 by journalist and publisher Alessandro Aleotti with ambitions of becoming the city's "third team".

Former Italy goalkeeper Walter Zenga once managed them and they play at the historic Arena Civica, which opened in 1807 and is the oldest stadium in mainland Europe and has hosted Inter, AC Milan and the national team.

Brera's 25-year existence has not always been straightforward from a footballing perspective. Once in Serie D they now reside in the amateur leagues.

Off the pitch, however, they are renowned for innovative social and cultural projects. One of the first involved entering a team of prisoners into a local league, while others have focused on helping immigrants to integrate through football or, from a cultural perspective, promoting and celebrating the district of Brera's art heritage.

Most recently, and perhaps most well known outside of Italy, is the Fenix Trophy - a competition organised by Brera that has garnered a cult following as a "Champions League for semi-professional and amateur clubs" and has played its final at the iconic San Siro stadium.

"We always try to think outside the box and use the tools football has given us to create something unprecedented and very noticeable," says Leonardo Aleotti, who has continued his father's work and runs the Fenix Trophy.

It is this aspect that attracted a group of American investors to purchase Brera in 2022. They used the Milan club as the platform, establishing Brera Tchumene in Mozambique, Brera Ilch in Mongolia and acquiring Akademija Pandev - the Macedonian club founded by national team hero and ex-Inter forward Pandev, which became AP Brera Strumica.

The portfolio also includes Milan-based women's volleyball team UYBA Volley.

"The whole message we took to the market was a new category called 'social impact soccer' - that means making friends not millionaires," explains executive chairman Daniel McClory, borrowing a line from FC United of Manchester, two-time Fenix Trophy winners.

"It's gone from being an interesting aspect that sets us apart to something recognised as a core value, that even parties we are talking to want to embrace and adopt."

Maria Xing, who previously worked at Liverpool and 777 Partners, joined Brera as head of investments and corporate development earlier this year and found that aspect of the project attractive.

"All the clubs partner with the local communities," she says. "Whether that is through local prison systems and trying to provide five-a-side matches to reform the way prisoners spend their time, or partnering with local schools and having players from Mozambique play with the children. It just seemed really impactful."

The agreed investment in Juve Stabia, a 117-year-old club residing in the culturally significant city of Castellammare di Stabia, close to Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast, is no different.

They sit seventh in the Italian second tier, having earned promotion last season, and club president Andrea Langella says Brera's involvement is "expected to bring not just additional financial resources and support, but expanded awareness of our brand and team, as well as human capital and player pathways between Brera's teams on three continents".

"Juve Stabia shares the social impact mission of Brera and will extend their reach into the greater Naples area, starting with Castellammare di Stabia," adds Langella.

Brera looked at a number of Serie B clubs before agreeing to invest in Juve Stabia, with McClory calling them "an important club with an ideal partner" in president Langella.

Pandev is North Macedonia's most-decorated player. A Champions League winner with Inter in 2010, he joined the club as an 18-year-old and, bar a brief spell at Galatasaray, spent his career in Italy.

"Goran has changed the entire landscape of North Macedonia," says Xing. "He could do anything with his post-playing career, but instead he chose to go back and start up an infrastructure to provide for people and kids who wouldn't have had the opportunities when he was a kid. That is so powerful."

Pandev founded the club in the city he was born in 2010, the year he won the Treble with Inter. They quickly rose to the top flight and have flirted with Europe.

Brera acquired 90% in May 2023, with Pandev remaining president, but their presence also caught the eye of a local women's team, who reached out and have been taken under their wing as Brera Tiverija.

"We thought it was a really good opportunity and there is no other foreign investment into women's football in the Balkans," explains Xing. "It is a really good way to support a marginalised group and something I personally believe in."

So, having made their biggest acquisition to date in Serie B, where do Brera see themselves going next?

"There is nothing similar in multi-club space," says Xing. "We like clubs that are deeply rooted in the community and already have a social impact angle. That is something that, because it has been in our fabric for so long, we want to carry forward."

For Gardner, who loves Brera's Italian roots, the sky is the limit.

"Think about all the great brands that came out of Italy," he beams. "Ferragamo, Gucci, Armani, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati - I don't have to say another word, do I? All of those people had visions. They were committed to building their own table.

"We've got a dream, we've got a vision, but more importantly, we've got a plan."