Joseph Portelli has reached an agreement in principle to buy Nocerina Calcio

Reports say change in ownership should be completed by end of March

Joseph Portelli has an agreement in principle to buy Italian Serie D side Nocerina, a report in the Italian media said.

The Ħamrun Spartans president has made no secret of his desire to acquire an Italian club, and during the past few months, he has been linked with several Italian clubs.

The Times of Malta had reported in January that Portelli had a bid for Serie D side Siena turned down by the Italian club.

In the past few weeks, Portelli confirmed that he was in advanced talks to acquire Nocerina Calcio, and the Gozitan entrepreneur travelled to the Campagna region to hold face-to-face talks with the top hierarchy of the Italian side.

During his stay, he watched Nocerina secure a 1-1 draw against Budino in the Italian Serie D and at the end of the match, he was greeted by a number of Italian fans who showed all their enthusiasm on the potential arrival of Portelli at the helm of the club.

Last week, other reports in the Italian media said that Portelli’s interest in Nocerina was put on hold as he was mulling a potential bid for Ancona.

However, on Tuesday night, a report on Nocerina Live, a website dedicated to the Italian Serie D fans, reported that Portelli had a conference call with the top officials from Nocerina Calcio whereby an agreement in principle was reached for the Ħamrun Spartans president to acquire the Italian club by the end of March.

The report said that during the meeting, there was an agreement on the key factors for the change of ownership, and a verbal agreement was reached so that Portelli takes charge of Nocerina.

“Now, it is expected that Nocerina will take formal steps to call an extraordinary general meeting during which the club delegates will ratify the transfer of the club’s shares to J.P. Portelli Group,” the report said.

Nocerina Calcio are playing in the Italian Serie D and are battling for promotion as they are currently fifth in the standings, and on course to play in the play-offs for a spot in the Serie C next season

Portelli’s acquisition of Nocerina Calcio is likely to take a few more days or weeks to be completed, given the necessary paperwork and bureaucratic demands that need to be met.

However, should all be sorted successfully, Portelli will become the first Maltese businessman to own a foreign club.

In an interview with Times of Malta, late last year, Portelli had declared his plans of buying a lower-tier Italian club and gradually guide him up the ranks of Italian football until they win promotion to the Serie A.

However, he had made it clear that he has no plans to leave Ħamrun Spartans and would use his venture in Italy as a platform to not only attract better players for the Maltese side’s ambitions in European football, but also to help Maltese players fulfil their dream of pursuing their career in Italian football.