From the time he was a child, Gino Pozzo always loved football.
After spending some time in the United States where he attended the prestigious Harvard University, Pozzo returned to his native Italy. At that point, he had a decision to grapple with. It was almost expected of him that he invest himself in the family woodworking business. Yet at the same time, Pozzo wanted more. He had always wanted to run a professional football team, and it was during this period when he decided to use his passion, his skill, and his newfound business education to accomplish precisely that.
It was in 2012 that he became owner of the English Premier League football club in Watford. To say that the team was in dire straights during that period was a bit of an understatement. Still, Pozzo was able to turn things around to help transform the club into the success that they are seen as today.
In the years since assuming that ownership position, however, rumors have been swirling about what the future of Watford might hold. Gino Pozzo has long been known to have an intimate involvement with virtually all day-to-day aspects of the club. No essential business decisions are made without his express input. Having successfully rehabilitated the team, would he continue to stay so involved, or would he sell the team and move onto another project?
Now, it appears, Watford fans everywhere finally have their answer.
Growth: The Long-Term Solution for Watford
News of whether Gino Pozzo has any intention of selling the team comes directly from Scott Duxbury, the club’s chairperson. For those unfamiliar, Duxbury is a part of Gino Pozzo’s famous three-tiered approach to leadership. If anyone is going to know exactly what Pozzo’s plans are for the future, it would be him.
In a recent interview with the online publication Football Talk, Duxbury made it clear: any rumors indicating that Watford was about to be sold are absolutely false. Not only did he state that Gino Pozzo was not actively trying to sell the team, he underlined the point by saying that it wasn’t an option that was even under consideration.
In many ways, the history of the entire Pozzo family is directly linked to the club itself. Gino Pozzo loves it and selling it is one of the furthest things from his mind.
Quite the contrary – Duxbury has indicated that Gino Pozzo is doing exactly what he always does when it comes to Watford. He is looking towards the future to determine if there are any opportunities for further improvement that are just waiting to be capitalized on.
Presently, this means that a significant amount of Pozzo’s attention is focused on goals like stadium development. The quality of the stadium is a direct reflection of the quality of the club itself and Watford needs an environment that is built to match its current and well-earned status. Not only that, but the fans need a place where they can go and appropriately celebrate their favorite team as well.
Over the years, Gino Pozzo and the rest of his family have become renowned for owning multiple football clubs at once. In addition to Watford, they also own the “sister club” Udinese Calcio. Over the course of the last decade, they also had a controlling interest in Granada CF. That interest was sold off in 2016, however.
Another example of Gino Pozzo’s passion for football comes by way of his international scouting team. Made up of between 25 and 30 people at any given time, these professionals travel the world in search of the next big star to invest in. They pay particular attention to areas like Africa and South America. Pozzo himself has a strategy where he invests “small sums of money” in players that show a lot of promise that are also potentially known to be high risk. That has a way of paying off time and again when those players become the next sensations in the league.
Since he took ownership of the Watford Football Club, Watford went from the Football League Championship to the Premier League in 2016. Since Gino Pozzo purchased the team in 2012, it is also estimated that the revenue the club generates on a yearly basis increased by in excess of £100 million. In 2019, Watford even made it to the FA Cup Final. Even though they were beaten by Manchester City, it is still another in a long line of victories for both the team and its beloved owner.