Joseph Portelli confirmed as new owner of Italian football club Ferrara Ars et Labor

Ħamrun Spartans president Joseph Portelli was confirmed on Thursday as the new owner of Italian Eccellenza club Ferrara Ars et Labor.

Ferrara Ars et Labor enjoyed a great history recently, as they were in the Italian Serie A between 2017 and 2019 under the name of SPAL.

However, financial difficulties saw the club forced to declare bankruptcy in 2025, and the club restarted in the Italian Eccellenza.

Times of Malta reported last week, that Portelli and his right-hand man, Marcel Bonnici, the CEO of Ħamrun Spartans, travelled to Rome on Friday to finalise the deal.

Portelli and Bonnici met with Ars et Labor owner Andres Marengo to sort out the last few details of the deal that would see the Eccellenza club pass to the ownership of the Ħamrun Spartans president.

Sources had told Times of Malta that the Due Diligence process over the deal has produced no negative responses; thus, the deal was set to be confirmed on Thursday.

This agreement sees Portelli become the first Maltese football administrator to buy a foreign club.

Ferrara Calcio Ars et Labor issued a statement to welcome Portelli as the new club owner and promised that the new ownership will do everything in their power to take the team where it deserves.

“We are pleased to announce that on July 9, 2026, Joseph Portelli, through JP Football Holding, will be the new owner of Ars et Labor Ferrara,” the statement said.

“The club’s acquisition is with immediate effect after an agreement with previous owners Juan Martin Molinari and Andres Adolfo Marengo.

“To the club fans, we would like to send a clear message: there is full commitment in restoring Ars et Labor Ferrara to the status its history and tradition deserve.

“Our objective is to guarantee the club will operate solidly and with a stable financial situation that will help to build the foundations for a gradual growth of the club and achieve constant success”

It was also announced that Marcel Bonnici has been appointed as the club’s CEO with immediate effect. Further announcements on other positions will be made in the coming days.

The new owners also said that it’s their wish to meet the local media to present their project and the club fans, “who are the heart and the most precious value of our club”.

“We are certain that we will be capable of building a successful future for the club,” the statement concluded.