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Swindon Town chairman Lee Power eyeing to buy football club in Montenegro

Reports in the Irish Sun newspaper have revealed that Swindon Town chairman Lee Power has a keen eye on purchasing a football club in Montenegro.

Power has recently assumed full control of Irish first division club Waterford United and, in an interview with the Irish Sun he announced his intentions in Waterford while the article also says he is eyeing up a third club - in Montenegro.

The Swindon owner currently resides in the tax haven of Switzerland, which limits him to just 90 days a year in England, but the ex-Norwich striker also spends a lot of time in Portugal.

Ireland is listed as fifth in a '10 Best Tax Havens in the World' by GoBankingRates, but Montenegro is not listed as one.

His interest in Waterford however appears to be a more personal one, given his grandfather hails from there.

Power told the Irish Sun: "Obviously I wanted a club down in that part of the world because that’s where my family are from — it was the first place I looked. I wasn’t looking for a Dublin club. When I first asked about Waterford and they were available, it was a no-brainer.

“I have the family connections which are important to me but, from a business perspective, Waterford is the one that has got potentially the most growth of any club."
 
He is not the first chairman in football to own multiple clubs. The Pozzo family own Watford, Udinese and formerly Granada while Roland Duchatelet has tied in a whopping five teams - including Charlton, who Swindon beat 3-0 on Saturday.
 
Should Power invest in the unnamed club from Montenegro, he would want all three to work in tandem.
 
“You always have to run them as a separate entity because they all have their own identity and everyone, especially locally, will have their own wishes for their own football club
 
“But I don’t think it does any harm. It’s just the way that football is gone, it’s a very global game and the connection will benefit the clubs.
 
“There are times where Waterford might want to loan players from Swindon that could do a job there.
 
“And, at the same time, if there was some good kid, that was looking for a route to England, then at the right time, there is a possibility that it come happen for them.”
 
Power has outlined plans to get Waterford challenging in the upper echelons of Irish football and competiting for European places (Dundalk recently held Dutch side AZ to a 1-1 draw in the Europa League), but it is not yet apparent how he will juggle his two, and potentially maybe three, clubs. 
 
 
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