‘Paramount’ - Liverpool owners FSG confirm key team decision as Tom Werner’s son speaks out

Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group’s (FSG) step into a new venture will begin in little more than two months’ time.

John Henry and Co. have owned the Reds since 2010, with seven major trophies being won during that time - including the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League a year later. They’ll also be hoping Jurgen Klopp’s side can add more silverware to the Anfield trophy cabinet after an encouraging start this season.

FSG have also had success with Major League Baseball team the Boston Red Sox. A total of four World Series titles have been yielded having owned the iconic outfit in the 21 years of their tenure.

Similar aspirations will be held with National Hockey League side the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were purchased for a reported $900 million in December 2021.

And FSG will also be hoping that their golf team in a new league can also achieve glory. The Technology Golf League, spearheaded by icons Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, begins on 9 January 2024 and will combine advanced tech and live action with teams of PGA Tour stars including Woods, McIlroy, John Rahm and Southport's Tommy Fleetwood.

FSG have purchased one of six franchises to be based in Boston - and have announced the name as Boston Common Golf. The name has been chosen as it 'pays homage to the city’s iconic public space and reinforces the vision of accessibility to the game'.

Teddy Werner, the son of Liverpool and FSG chairman Tom, is Common Golf's governor. On why the name was selected, he said via the Boston Globe: “We felt it was absolutely paramount that there was an established deep connection through the name and identity system to Boston, and with the venue not being in the market, establishing this connection to Boston was even more critical.

“That’s why the team’s name springs from the first public park in the country and the primary green space in the heart of the city. Because FSG was firmly set that the team name not be gimmicky, not include a reference to Fenway, and not include the word “club” (used by two other TGL franchises, the Los Angeles Golf Club and Atlanta Drive GC), the definition of ‘common’ also conveniently played into TGL’s quest to weaken the strong associations golf still has with exclusivity and elitism.

“We really want to lean into the fact that we’re trying to ‘commonize’ the game of golf. We want to make golf something for all, something for everyone.

“What was great about having these two options was one was definitely more irreverent, in the not-take-yourself-so-seriously space. The other system around a bird was more traditional, more classic. There were people on both sides.

“But as we talked through it, we said FSG is part of the reason why we’re interested in this, as it’s pushing the envelope a little bit, it’s a little bit different. TGL is intended to be a different iteration of the game of golf. This is a mark that was going to be a little bit more out there, a little bit more mysterious. It got people asking, ‘Why the frog?’ And we just felt from a fashion standpoint, a frog was going to be a little cooler than a system around a bird.”