Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha buys local club
Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha and rapper Stormzy have agreed a deal to buy non-league club AFC Croydon.
The pair, who both grew up in the South London borough, are part of a three-man consortium alongside former Palace head of player care Danny Young.
AFC Croydon compete in the ninth tier of English football.
Announcing the agreement, the club said: “The consortium will own, operate and develop their childhood hometown football club.”
They added: “Whilst completion is subject to legislative and governance procedures, the three consortium members are excited about developing a community asset in the borough that gave them their own opportunities.
“They hope to take the entire community on this exciting journey with them.”
AFC Croydon were founded in 2012 after Croydon Athletic folded.
Zaha, 30, who was born in the Ivory Coast, is heavily involved in community projects and also runs the WZ Academy.
He began his career at Crystal Palace, before joining Manchester United in 2013.
After a spell on loan at Cardiff, he rejoined Palace on a season-long loan in August 2014, which was made permanent in February 2015.
Zaha won two England caps before switching his footballing allegiance to the Ivory Coast and going on to win 31 caps for his country of birth.
He has been linked with a move away from Selhurst Park when his contract expires at the end of the month, amid interest from Saudi Arabia.
Following the announcement by the non-league club, he tweeted: “May the journey begin.”
Stormzy, whose real name is Michael Owuo Jr, has had three number one albums and won three Brit awards.
