Which Football Clubs Are Connected to Jamestown Analytics?

The football clubs publicly connected to Jamestown Analytics include Brighton & Hove Albion, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, Como 1907, CD Castellón and Heart of Midlothian. Later reports have also linked the company with Grimsby Town, IK Start and Shelbourne, while other possible relationships remain less clearly documented.

These clubs do not form a conventional multi-club ownership group. Some are connected through Tony Bloom’s investments, while others are independent clients purchasing analytical support. The precise client list is confidential, so no public account should be treated as complete.

Jamestown’s reported work can include player recruitment, head-coach identification, opposition analysis and the adaptation of proprietary football data to each club. Its influence is therefore better understood as a selective football intelligence network than a single ownership structure.

Which Clubs Have Public Jamestown Analytics Connections?

Based on club announcements and credible public reporting available by July 2026, the clearest reported connections are:

This is a list of publicly identifiable relationships, not necessarily Jamestown’s complete client base. Confidentiality is central to the company’s business model, and its managing director has stated that Jamestown is selective about the clubs with which it works.

It is also important not to add every club in which Tony Bloom has invested. An ownership connection to Bloom does not, by itself, prove an operational relationship with Jamestown Analytics.

Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton are the club most closely associated with the Jamestown model.

The club’s recruitment record has become one of the most studied examples of data-informed decision-making in European football. Brighton have repeatedly identified players from markets or development pathways that larger clubs either overlooked or valued less aggressively.

Frequently cited examples include:

• Moisés Caicedo, recruited from Independiente del Valle before being sold to Chelsea for a British-record fee.
• Kaoru Mitoma, recruited from Kawasaki Frontale before developing into a Premier League player.
• Alexis Mac Allister, signed from Argentinos Juniors before becoming a World Cup winner.
• Marc Cucurella, acquired from Getafe and later sold to Chelsea at a substantial profit.

These transfers should not be attributed to an algorithm alone. Recruitment involves live scouting, medical assessment, financial negotiation, coaching and player development. Data can narrow the search and identify unusual candidates, but the club must still make and execute the decision.

Jamestown has been described as the guiding analytical influence behind Brighton’s recruitment. The company reportedly takes proprietary data and adapts it to the club’s requirements, allowing Brighton to evaluate players according to its own tactical, financial and developmental priorities.

This distinction matters. The objective is not simply to generate a list of players with good visible statistics. It is to estimate how performance might translate between competitions, how a player fits a specific role and whether the market has mispriced that potential.

Royale Union Saint-Gilloise

Royale Union Saint-Gilloise are the second club historically associated with the Bloom football network.

Tony Bloom became the majority owner of Union in 2018, when the Brussels club were outside Belgium’s top division. Union subsequently won promotion and quickly became a title challenger, eventually winning the Belgian championship in 2024–25.

Bloom later reduced his control to a minority position following regulatory scrutiny when Union and Brighton qualified for UEFA competitions. UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules required governance changes designed to protect the independence of the two clubs.

Union’s development has shared several characteristics with Brighton:

• Recruiting players before their value becomes obvious to larger clubs.
• Looking beyond the most expensive European markets.
• Building squads capable of producing both sporting and trading returns.
• Maintaining continuity despite regular player departures.
• Using repeatable decision processes rather than relying on individual reputation.

Victor Boniface is one prominent example. Union recruited him from Bodø/Glimt before selling him to Bayer Leverkusen, where he became a Bundesliga title winner.

As with Brighton, it would be inaccurate to describe every successful transfer as a direct Jamestown recommendation. Public information does not reveal the complete internal process. The important point is that proprietary data and analytical decision-making have formed part of the club’s wider operating model.

Como 1907

Como demonstrate that Jamestown’s client network extends beyond football clubs connected to Tony Bloom’s ownership interests.

The Italian club are independently owned and have no conventional multi-club relationship with Brighton or Union Saint-Gilloise. Their connection is commercial and analytical rather than based on common ownership.

Credible reporting identified Como as a Jamestown client after the club won promotion to Serie A, ending a 21-year absence from Italy’s top division.

Como’s involvement is important for two reasons.

First, it shows that Jamestown’s services are not reserved exclusively for Bloom-controlled clubs. The company can provide football intelligence to independent owners willing to build decision-making processes around proprietary data.

Second, it suggests that Jamestown does not simply distribute the same rankings to every client. Managing director Justin Said has explained that the information is refined and tailored for each club. In theory, the output created for Como should reflect Como’s squad, budget, tactical approach and competitive environment.

That customisation is commercially important. If every client received the same list of undervalued players, Jamestown could create competition between its own partners and reduce the usefulness of its product.

CD Castellón

Spanish club CD Castellón have also been publicly identified as an independent Jamestown client.

Castellón are owned by Haralabos Voulgaris, a former professional poker player and sports bettor who previously worked in the NBA as director of quantitative research and development for the Dallas Mavericks.

Voulgaris’s background makes the relationship particularly notable. Like Bloom, he approaches sport through probability, data and the search for mispriced assets. His ownership of Castellón has been associated with a wider attempt to modernise recruitment and football operations.

Castellón gained promotion from Spain’s third tier to the Segunda División after beginning their relationship with Jamestown. More recent reports have continued to associate the club’s progress and player identification with the analytics company.

Promotion does not prove that an analytics provider caused the improvement. Football performance depends on coaching, player quality, injuries, finances and execution. However, Castellón provide another example of an owner with a betting or quantitative background using proprietary analytics as part of a wider club-building strategy.

Heart of Midlothian

Hearts provide the clearest example of a publicly announced Jamestown partnership.

In November 2024, the Scottish club confirmed an agreement to use Jamestown Analytics across its football operations. The partnership was initially separate from discussions about Tony Bloom investing in the club.

Hearts said the arrangement would support areas including:

• Player recruitment.
• Squad planning.
• Head-coach identification.
• Opposition analysis.
• Broader football decision-making.

The Jamestown system was reportedly involved in the process that led Hearts to appoint Neil Critchley in October 2024. Critchley was later dismissed, illustrating an essential point: data-informed decisions can still fail.

Analytics can improve a selection process without making every selection successful. A head coach may appear suitable according to tactical, performance and career data but struggle because of communication, culture, injuries, timing or factors that were difficult to measure.

Hearts subsequently appointed Derek McInnes, another decision reported to have involved Jamestown analysis.

Bloom completed a £9.86 million investment for a 29% non-voting stake in Hearts in June 2025. The structure was designed to give the club access to capital and football intelligence without transferring voting control away from the Foundation of Hearts.

Hearts are therefore connected to Jamestown in two separate ways:

1. Through a direct analytics partnership.
2. Through Bloom’s subsequent minority investment.

The distinction is important because the analytics agreement was not simply an automatic consequence of common ownership.

Grimsby Town

Grimsby Town have been named in credible reporting as another English club working with Jamestown Analytics.

The relationship has received substantially less public explanation than the partnerships involving Brighton or Hearts. There is limited verified detail about its scope, when it began or which decisions have been directly influenced by Jamestown.

That lack of information is consistent with the company’s preference for confidentiality. A club may use external data for selected recruitment projects without rebuilding its entire football department around the provider.

Grimsby’s reported involvement also shows that Jamestown’s model is not limited to wealthy top-flight clubs. Proprietary analysis may be particularly valuable lower in the football pyramid, where recruitment budgets are restricted and finding underpriced players can materially affect performance.

However, the same financial constraints can limit implementation. Identifying the right player does not guarantee that a lower-league club can afford the fee, satisfy wage demands or win competition for his signature.

IK Start

Norwegian club IK Start have also been publicly linked with Jamestown Analytics.

Reports describe Start as having entered an agreement with the analytics company before improving their competitive position and earning promotion to Norway’s top flight.

Norway is a logical market for a data-led recruitment model. The country produces technically and physically capable young players, while transfer valuations can remain lower than in Europe’s largest leagues.

Clubs such as Bodø/Glimt have also demonstrated that strong coaching, development and recruitment can turn Norwegian football into an effective pathway towards larger European markets.

This does not mean Jamestown’s role at Start is identical to its role at Brighton, Como or Hearts. Public reporting does not provide enough detail to determine the exact scope of the relationship.

Shelbourne

Shelbourne have been reported as another club with a Jamestown agreement.

The Irish club’s connection fits a wider pattern. Smaller leagues may contain players whose underlying ability is not fully represented by traditional scouting coverage, public statistics or prevailing transfer valuations.

A proprietary model could potentially help a club:

• Compare players across competitions with different standards.
• Identify attributes that remain stable when a player changes league.
• Estimate development potential.
• Search a wider group of players than a small scouting department can watch.
• Reduce reliance on agent recommendations and familiar markets.

Shelbourne’s reported progress into European competition has increased interest in the club’s analytical approach. Nevertheless, publicly available information remains limited, and its results should not be attributed to Jamestown alone.

Is RC Lens Connected to Jamestown Analytics?

RC Lens have been linked with Jamestown in European reporting, but the relationship is less clearly documented in English-language primary sources than those involving Brighton, Hearts, Como or Castellón.

It is therefore reasonable to describe Lens as a reported connection, but not to present the precise nature of the partnership as established fact without further disclosure from the club or Jamestown.

This evidential caution matters because successful data-led clubs are frequently assumed to belong to the same network. Similar recruitment strategies do not necessarily prove that two clubs use the same analytics provider.

A club may:

• Employ its own internal models.
• Purchase data from another company.
• Use several specialist consultancies.
• Share investors with another club without sharing recruitment systems.
• Adopt similar principles independently.

GoalIQAI therefore separates publicly confirmed relationships from reported or inferred connections.

Is Melbourne Victory a Jamestown Club?

Tony Bloom acquired an initial 19.1% stake in Melbourne Victory in 2025. That investment naturally created speculation that the Australian club would gain access to the same analytical infrastructure associated with Brighton and Hearts.

Later reports have suggested that Jamestown data has influenced individual Melbourne Victory recruitment decisions. However, Bloom’s shareholding and a formal Jamestown partnership are not the same thing.

Unless the club or company defines the arrangement publicly, Melbourne Victory should be described as a Bloom-connected club with reported Jamestown influence rather than automatically placed in the same category as a confirmed client such as Hearts.

This is a useful example of why the phrase “Jamestown network” needs careful interpretation.

Are All These Clubs Owned by Tony Bloom?

No. Jamestown Analytics is not simply an internal department serving clubs owned by Tony Bloom.

Como and Castellón are especially important because they demonstrate that Jamestown can work with independent ownership groups.

This is one of the central differences examined in GoalIQAI’s comparison of Starlizard and Jamestown Analytics. Starlizard is primarily associated with sports prediction and betting-market analysis. Jamestown applies related data foundations to football-club decisions.

Does Tony Bloom Own Jamestown Analytics?

Public reporting indicates that Tony Bloom does not own Jamestown Analytics.

The company has been reported as being owned by Johan Moazed, a sports bettor and backgammon player. Jamestown emerged from the wider Starlizard environment, and its managing director, Justin Said, previously spent 13 years at Starlizard.

The relationships are therefore close but should not be collapsed into one organisation:

• Tony Bloom: Sports bettor, investor and owner or shareholder in several football clubs.
• Starlizard: Sports betting consultancy for which Bloom is reported to be the principal client.
• Jamestown Analytics: Football intelligence company working with selected clubs.
• Johan Moazed: Reported owner of Jamestown Analytics.

The distinction can appear technical, but it matters when evaluating club ownership, regulatory independence and commercial relationships.

What Does Jamestown Analytics Do for Clubs?

Jamestown’s precise models are proprietary, but its publicly described services extend beyond producing transfer shortlists.

The company is reported to support:

• Player identification: Finding players whose ability or potential may be underestimated.
• Player valuation: Assessing whether a transfer fee represents reasonable value.
• Role and tactical fit: Matching player characteristics with the club’s intended style.
• League translation: Estimating how performance may transfer between competitions.
• Squad planning: Identifying weaknesses, replacement options and future needs.
• Head-coach recruitment: Comparing managers according to performance and tactical indicators.
• Opposition analysis: Helping clubs understand how opponents create and concede opportunities.

The models reportedly use bespoke data rather than relying only on the familiar public metrics available through mainstream football websites.

That does not make conventional statistics irrelevant. Expected goals, expected threat, field tilt and pressing data can all contribute to football analysis. GoalIQAI’s guide to which football statistics actually matter explains why the real advantage often comes from how metrics are combined and interpreted.

Why Is the Full Client List Secret?

Confidentiality protects both Jamestown and its partner clubs.

If every relationship, player rating and recruitment target were public, competitors could:

• Identify which markets Jamestown considers undervalued.
• Monitor players approached by its clients.
• Increase transfer fees by anticipating interest.
• Attempt to reverse engineer the models.
• Compete for the same coaches or players.

Secrecy also makes it difficult to measure Jamestown’s record independently. The public sees selected successes but may not know which rejected players, unsuccessful signings or failed appointments were influenced by the system.

This creates a form of survivorship bias. Successful transfers become case studies, while less successful recommendations may remain confidential.

A balanced assessment should therefore recognise both possibilities:

• Jamestown appears to provide genuinely sophisticated football intelligence.
• Outsiders do not possess enough information to calculate its complete success rate.

The absence of transparency does not prove that the process is ineffective. It simply limits the strength of the conclusions that can be drawn from public evidence.

Is Jamestown Building a Multi-Club Network?

Jamestown’s relationships resemble a network because several clubs use related analytical infrastructure. Legally and operationally, however, this is not necessarily a conventional multi-club group.

A traditional multi-club ownership structure places several teams under the same controlling investor or corporate entity. Jamestown can instead provide services to clubs with unrelated owners.

The network is therefore better understood in three layers:

1. Bloom-owned or Bloom-invested clubs: Brighton, Union Saint-Gilloise, Hearts and Melbourne Victory.
2. Independent publicly identified Jamestown clients: Como and Castellón.
3. Other reported clients or connections: Grimsby Town, IK Start, Shelbourne and potentially other undisclosed clubs.

These categories can overlap, change over time or contain different levels of service.

Jamestown may also impose exclusivity by competition or territory to avoid providing the same advantage to direct rivals. Hearts, for example, described themselves as the company’s only Scottish partner when their agreement was discussed publicly.

What Can Bettors Learn From the Jamestown Clubs?

The main lesson is not to copy individual transfers. It is to understand the decision philosophy behind them.

The publicly connected clubs tend to emphasise several principles:

• Evaluate underlying performance rather than reputation.
• Search beyond the most familiar leagues.
• Separate player ability from the environment in which it was observed.
• Attach a price to every opinion.
• Think in distributions and probabilities rather than certainties.
• Build repeatable processes capable of surviving staff and player turnover.
• Combine analytical evidence with human judgement.

These principles resemble the logic of professional betting. A player, coach or football team does not possess value in isolation. Value exists when estimated ability differs from the price assigned by the market.

This is why GoalIQAI’s analysis of what football clubs can teach bettors about finding value is closely connected to the Jamestown model.

The objective is not to predict every successful player or match. It is to make sufficiently well-priced decisions across a large portfolio.

Why Jamestown’s Success Cannot Be Measured by Transfers Alone

Transfer profits are highly visible, but they are only one possible output of an analytics system.

A recommendation can create value by helping a club:

• Avoid an overpriced signing.
• Select one suitable player from several similar candidates.
• Appoint a coach whose style fits the existing squad.
• Sell a player before his market value falls.
• Enter an emerging recruitment market earlier than competitors.
• Improve succession planning.

Many of these benefits are counterfactual. Supporters can see the player who was signed, but they cannot see the expensive mistake the club decided not to make.

Performance should also be evaluated over a portfolio of decisions rather than one celebrated transfer. Brighton’s sale of Caicedo is exceptional, but a sustainable recruitment model must account for players who develop slowly, lose value or fail to reach the first team.

This is comparable to the distinction between one football result and a long-term betting process. As explained in GoalIQAI’s guide to value betting, good decisions do not guarantee good immediate outcomes.

How Reliable Is the Public Club List?

The list should be treated as a carefully evidenced snapshot rather than a definitive register.

Confidence is highest where:

• A club has announced the relationship directly.
• Jamestown representatives have discussed the club publicly.
• Multiple credible reports independently identify the connection.

Confidence is lower where:

• The link is inferred from Tony Bloom’s investment.
• A club follows similar recruitment principles.
• Only one secondary report names the relationship.
• The precise service provider is not disclosed.

This evidence-based distinction prevents speculation from being presented as fact. It also reflects the wider GoalIQAI principle that uncertainty is a valid analytical conclusion.

Key Takeaways

• Brighton, Union Saint-Gilloise, Como, Castellón and Hearts have the clearest publicly documented connections to Jamestown Analytics.
• Grimsby Town, IK Start and Shelbourne have also been named as Jamestown partners or clients in credible reporting.
• RC Lens and Melbourne Victory have reported or inferred connections, but the precise arrangements are less clearly documented publicly.
• The full client list is confidential and may include other undisclosed clubs.
• The clubs do not all belong to Tony Bloom or form one conventional multi-club ownership group.
• Como and Castellón are important examples of independent ownership groups purchasing Jamestown’s services.
• Tony Bloom is closely connected to the football intelligence ecosystem but is not reported to own Jamestown Analytics.
• Jamestown’s work can include player recruitment, valuation, coaching appointments, squad planning and opposition analysis.
• Club success cannot be attributed to data alone; coaching, scouting, development and execution remain essential.
• The strongest lesson is the use of repeatable, probability-based processes to identify mispriced football talent.

Related Guides

• Inside Jamestown Analytics
• Starlizard vs Jamestown Analytics
• What Football Clubs Can Teach Bettors About Finding Value
• How Professional Football Bettors Build a Match Analysis Framework
• Why Football Betting Markets Are Smarter Than Experts

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