By Andy Marston, Sports Pundit
Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), majority owner of Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain, has signed a strategic investment agreement with Kevin Durant, one of the NBA’s most influential figures both on and off the court.
Durant, through his media and investment platform Boardroom (co-founded with Rich Kleiman), has acquired a direct minority stake in PSG, building on his earlier involvement via Arctos Partners, also a minority shareholder in the club.
As part of the partnership, Boardroom and QSI will collaborate on a range of commercial, investment, and content initiatives.
Durant will support the club’s wider growth ambitions: co-developing branded kit and original media, advising on US and international market strategy, working with PSG’s charitable foundation.
Perhaps most notably he will also contribute to the club’s multi-sport strategy, including possible plans for basketball.
Why It Matters:
This feels like a calculated move that has huge benefits for both sides.
Sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East are increasingly seeking exposure to US-based sport assets (as we saw SURJ develop via a partnership with Enfield Investment Partners in January). For QSI, the partnership provides them with a different strategic bridge into getting that access.
Beyond access, Durant also brings cultural leverage, content firepower, and built-in audience reach. Through Boardroom, they now have a media partner with deep U.S. roots and credibility among the next generation of fans and who can both influence and amplify the narrative.
For Durant, while he’s been an active investor for some time, this deal puts sovereign capital behind him and a major European club beside him. The deal gives him a seat at the top table of sport-business strategy and the chance to shape something at significant scale, starting, most likely, with a PSG-backed franchise in
the frequently-discussed NBA Europe project.
Paris would be the crown jewel of that expansion. The city already hosts regular-season NBA games, has a passionate basketball fanbase, and sits at the intersection of sport, fashion, and global culture.
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