Italian club Venezia FC has officially announced a new kit deal for the upcoming 2024-25 Serie A season with Nocta, the Nike sub-brand owned by Canadian rapper Drake. When the new deal became public, it was revealed that Drake had also bailed out the club last year to avoid bankruptcy. according to the report.
Venezia FC, the team that has just been promoted to the Italian Serie A, is known worldwide for the quality of their football shirts in recent years, and as the club has become iconic in the fashion world, it provided a perfect entry for Drake and Nocta on the European football jersey market, but apparently that wasn’t Drake’s first time dealing with the team.
The Italian edition from GQ revealed how Drake saved Venezia last season, because the club needed an immediate injection of €10 million to keep the club safe, but at the same time also needed around €30 million to stay alive and avoid bankruptcy. Matte Babel, Drake’s chief brand officer, spoke to GQ and explained what happened.
“I got a call from Brad Katsuyama, co-owner of Venezia and a good friend of mine. He explained the problem to me in a simple way: Venezia needs to raise €10 million in a few weeks, and then at least €30 million in a few months, otherwise the club will go bankrupt.
“Venezia is an incredible city, and Venezia has always been a special club. I spoke to Drake, then to Brad, and I discussed the details of how we could help. Within two weeks we had a deal in place and raised the money that was necessary to pay salaries and avoid bankruptcy.” At the end of the season, Venezia FC managed to gain promotion to Serie A under manager Paolo Vanoli, who left the club in the summer and joined Torino. Vanoli was replaced by former Frosinone boss Eusebio Di Francesco.
Venezia is currently owned by American VFC Newco 2020, founded in 2022 and led by American businessman Duncan Niederauer. The ownership group recently formed an Operating Committee to oversee the club’s strategic direction, and the deal with Nocta and Drake appears to be the first step for a new direction.
