Woody Johnson completes purchase of Crystal Palace shares | OneFootball

Crystal Palace have confirmed that Woody Johnson’s purchase of Eagle Football’s shareholding in the club has been completed.

American businessman Johnson – who is co-owner of the New York Jets – joins chairman Steve Parish, Josh Harris and David Blitzer as a partner and director of the Eagles, and has also signed the Premier League’s Owners’ Charter.

“I am honoured and privileged to be joining the ownership group of Crystal Palace Football Club,” Johnson told the Eagles website.

“It is an organisation with a proud history, tradition, and deep roots in English football in South London, which I came to admire during my time as US Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

“Eagles fans have demonstrated extraordinary loyalty, passion, and unwavering dedication and I am excited to meet and get to know them.

“I have great respect for Steve Parish and the leadership he has provided over the years.

“I look forward to working with him and the entire ownership group to build on the club’s recent successes and help shape an exciting future for Crystal Palace.

“This is more than an investment – it’s a commitment to realising the vision for the club, the community, and the culture around Selhurst Park.”

Johnson’s arrival at Palace comes with the club in dispute with UEFA over which European competition they will play in next season after winning the FA Cup in May.

The Eagles were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League after falling foul of UEFA’s rules governing multi-club ownership, but have submitted an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

UEFA determined that as of March 1, American businessman John Textor had control or influence in Palace and French club Lyon.

Textor said he had agreed to sell his stake in Palace to Johnson, but the move came too late to satisfy UEFA.

Parish said: “At this exciting time for Crystal Palace, we are delighted to be welcoming Woody to the ownership of the football club, and we very much look forward to working alongside him to build on our historic recent success moving forwards.”