An interview with Hamilton owner Rob Edwards, by Callum McFadden for WFi.
First of all, Rob, you’ve just taken over the running of Hamilton Academical, a club with a long and proud history in Scottish football. It is also no secret that the club has faced increasingly challenging times in recent years. What was it about Hamilton that attracted you to invest in the club in the first place?
“The club is unique and not just unique within Scotland. There is only one Academical.
“It is a brand by itself. So yes, I think you can see the history of the club and where it has been in the past. Obviously, it has been in the Premiership for a number of years and always been within those top two divisions for the most part. Particularly during my lifetime, I have always seen them as a fairly big club.
“That was the main attraction. We knew there was potential there because of where the club has been before. Obviously, as you said, it has been in hard times and probably the toughest times that the club has had in its 151 years. It is not what anyone in football or any fan of Hamilton wants to see.
“So, we saw the potential. We saw where it could be if we were able to get in, get under the bonnet, understand the real situation, and get a plan in place. Firstly, to save the club, and then to put a recovery plan in place to get back to where we feel it needs to be.”
In terms of your business portfolio, you have invested in numerous businesses over the years. When you got under the bonnet, were you shocked by what you found, or was it relatively expected given the media attention around the club in recent times?
“I was shocked that a lot of it was true. You kind of hope that some of it might have been smoke and mirrors when you come into a situation. I have dealt with sports press for a while, and there are often agendas there. I think that is the same here. It is difficult to know what is genuine and what is not.
“We probably went against every business fundamental that you would be taught anywhere by going into Hamilton without a huge amount of due diligence. One reason was time. We knew the club was very imminently going to go into an insolvency situation, which no one wants. As creditors, it is not a good scenario, particularly with the position the club is in. But also, as a football club, to potentially lose a club of that legacy is obviously really difficult to take.
“We have tried to understand as much as we could going in. A lot of what we found was expected, plus a few surprises. I think we have been vocal in saying that all we can do is take every challenge head-on and deal with every scenario as we see it. We take everything in black and white, not at face value.
“There have been a lot of things that have come up that we do not necessarily see any basis or reasoning behind. If it does not look right, we have to question it and understand our position from a legal, regulatory, and financial standpoint.
“It is going to take a fair bit of time to get complete clarity on where the situation is. We are dealing with each problem as it comes while trying to keep an eye on taking the club forward and future plans. But we know the next 30 to 60 days are going to be really, really vital for the club’s continuation.”
Building on that, one issue supporters have been very open about is the club currently playing its home matches in Cumbernauld rather than in Hamilton. That situation is well documented. Is the long-term ambition to bring the club back to Hamilton and, crucially, to restore the academy to the standards it reached in the past?
“You cannot build a community asset if you are not in the community. I have said that from the beginning. So yes, a return to Hamilton is definitely something we want to do. It has to be on the right terms for the club, and that is the most important thing. Any arrangement we get into going forward has to be in the club’s interest first and foremost.
“We know there is appetite for the club to be back on all fronts, and we would not have got involved if that was not a possibility. That was one of the first things we tried to establish. One hundred percent, we want to be back in Hamilton. We want to be a community asset. We want to be visible in the town.
“That feeds into the academy. You have seen the names that have come through over the last 10 to 15 years, and also more recently. It is a huge catchment area. It is a club that is used to bringing good young players through. Obviously, playing in the UEFA youth league for a number of years in the last decade.
“It is a club with a history of producing talent, and you cannot put a price on that. It does not just create a competitive team; it rebuilds the connection to the community. Young people around Hamilton can see a pathway to making a career in football. That is really important.
“We know there is no provision in place at the moment. We know it is not necessarily going to be easy building the academy from the ground up. But it is definitely in our strategy. We want to be back in Hamilton, we want an academy, and we want significant community impact. Those things feed into each other.”
During challenging times like this, it is easy to often focus on the negatives. I feel especially sorry for the staff working at the club. How impressed have you been by them, and how do you go about supporting them?
“The staff off field, the coaching team, and the players have been first class in what is a really difficult situation. I am delighted to be able to confirm that Darian McKinnon has committed his future to the club as our permanent manager until the end of the 2028/29 season.
“Not knowing whether you are going to get paid is not great in any business, at any time, but especially in December when it is a very expensive time and uncertainty is the last thing people need, particularly for their families.
“To go through that is insanely difficult, but they stuck together and put the club first. That is highly admirable and a real positive for us coming in. It shows the passion people have for the club and how much they want it to succeed.
“There was debate about whether a game would go ahead in early January when players had not been paid. But after discussions with the coaching team and the players, they were willing to play because they wanted to protect the integrity of the club, avoid further sanctions, and avoid further negative press.
“They have been first class. We have tried to be honest with them. They respect the position we are in and what we are trying to do. There is no magic wand. We cannot come in and immediately fix everything. It will take a long period of time to restore financial and reputational credibility.
“What we can do is ensure the club continues and give players and staff enough comfort to do their jobs.”
Looking ahead to the next 30 to 60 days, what would an ideal scenario look like for the club, and what potential challenges or risks could impact that progress?
“The priority is survival. To still be here first and foremost. We have a relatively clear understanding of the creditor position, and we need those creditors to work with us. There is no quick fix. Throwing money at the situation is not the answer. We need to look at the ongoing viability of the club.
“Insolvency is in no one’s interest. The club’s liabilities significantly exceed its assets. That is not a positive situation for creditors. It is about communication, honesty, and realistic timescales.
“The majority have been supportive and allowed us time to establish the position and put plans in place. There may be one or two that make things more difficult, but all we can do is be open, honest, and ensure any decisions made are informed.”
You have a strong track record of football club ownership with Haverfordwest County. What inspired you to take that project on?
“We are really proud of what we achieved there. It was a clean handover with no debt and strong people in place. It was a blank canvas. European football was the carrot.
“We invested in executives, coaching, infrastructure, and community engagement, particularly during COVID. We achieved European competition twice in three years, won a European tie for the first time in the club’s history, and transformed the academy from bottom of the league to winning a domestic treble and playing in the Youth Champions League.
“We have applied the same fundamentals within our other sports business at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in the US.
“In our minds, Hamilton is a distressed legacy asset at a different level, but the principles are the same. Revenue first, followed by sustainability and growth. That is how we believe the club can return to stability and progress through the leagues.
“We have always applied the same fundamentals in business throughout our portfolio in Wales, Kentucky, and elsewhere.”
In terms of OVW, it famously launched the careers of wrestling superstars like John Cena, Batista, and Brock Lesnar. Is the ultimate aim to potentially re-establish that kind of relationship with companies such as WWE or AEW in the future?
“One hundred percent. I still believe OVW has a strong place in the US as a standalone promotion and business, especially with the wrestling industry booming right now. Many products are being picked up for television, and wrestling fans are well aware of the scale of investment in the space. WWE’s deal is worth around half a billion dollars a year, AEW is reportedly around 150 million, TNA roughly 30 million, and there is also Ring of Honor. There is huge investment in wrestling media through major outlets.
“OVW is one of the few promotions that still runs a live weekly television show, which puts us in a very strong position. It is a place where talent can work live on TV and in front of a crowd, something you cannot replicate in a performance centre environment. AEW also does not currently have a direct feeder system like WWE once had with OVW.
“Because of that, I think OVW can add real value to larger companies while continuing to build its own identity. We are also an accredited trade school, the OVW Academy is still operating and producing talent, and working with a larger company would be mutually beneficial. We have already had some initial discussions, we are very open to it, and it is something we hope to push forward this year.”
Finally, Rob, what is your message to Hamilton fans at this time?
“The club deserves, and we feel, that it is one of the biggest outside the Premiership. It should be back competing in that top division. If not challenging at the very top, then certainly being present there. I know Hamilton has not necessarily been a yo-yo club, but it has had stints in the Premiership over periods of time.
“It is difficult to compete with the likes of Celtic and Rangers because of the massive financial gulf. Investment in Hearts and other Premiership clubs is also making that gap slightly bigger. But this is a club that, in the not too distant future, should be back at that level, producing homegrown talent, being visible in the community, investing in the community, and being a club that fans can be part of and enjoy the journey of getting back to where it wants to be.
“I think there is a lot of disillusionment among fans across football at the moment. You see it in the Premier League and in big leagues everywhere. If you look at Bayern Munich, they are one of the clubs that have consistently got it right, particularly from a fan perspective.
“There is disillusionment because of the price of football and the lack of connection for a number of reasons. I think Hamilton is in a similar period to Wrexham in that, as they came through the leagues, it became a story people wanted to be part of.
“If we can portray that in the right way after this initial period, where we can find some stability over the next few months, we are very clear on how we want to build Hamilton back up as a brand and as a journey that people can buy into.
“We can impact not just the Hamilton fan base and the local community, but also people in the surrounding areas who want to be part of something and feel that emotional connection. That emotional connection creates loyalty and a relentless drive to succeed, and that is what we want to restore.”
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