Energy Drink brand Red Bull is owned by Austrian Company Red Bull GmbH. For creating brand awareness, Red Bull owners have used innovative methods of advertising by launching proprietary Xtreme Sports events such as Red Bull Cliff Diving Series, Red Bull Air Race and Red Bull Crashed Ice to name a few.
To further diversify their portfolio and create brand monopoly at a global level, Red Bull have ownership of several Sports Teams, collaborate with celebrities for brand endorsements and have their own music label as well.
However, in this article we take a look at the Football Clubs owned by Red Bull.
Fußballclub Red Bull Salzburg
Red Bull Salzburg play in the Top tier division of the Austrian Bundesliga. They were previously known as SV Austria Salzburg but Red Bull renamed them to RB Salzburg after taking ownership of the club in 2005. Based in Wals-Siezenheim, their stadium is called the Red Bull Arena. Their kit colours were also changed from the traditional violet and white to the Red and white combination we see now.
The Club was founded in 1993 and since its inception, FC Salzburg have dominated their league winning 17 league titles and several major honours. Their supremacy has been such that they won 10 consecutive titles from 2014-2023.
RasenBallsport Leipzig
RB Leipzig play in the German Bundesliga and are another popular club owned by Red Bull. The club previously known as SSV Markranstädt was purchased by Red Bull in 2009 with the intent to promote the club to the topmost level in the German Bundesliga.
RB Leipzig earned their promotion to the First division in 2016 and played for the first time in the German Bundesliga in the 2016/17 season. They are based in Saxony, Germany with their stadium called the Red Bull Arena. Their best result in the Champions League was achieved in the 2019-20 season when they reached the Semi-Finals. Their trophy haul includes two DFB-Pokal Cups in 2022 and 2023.
FC Liefering GmbH
FC Liefering currently plays in the Austrian Bundesliga second division, owned by the Red Bull GmbH. Their stadium is based in Grödig and is called the Untersberg-Arena. The club was bought by Red Bull in 2011 and have been acting as the RB Salzburg reserve team since 2012. Liefering’s performances in the Austrian second division haven’t been satisfactory but they continue to develop talented youth players and were pivotal in RB Salzburg winning the UEFA Youth League in 2016/17 season.
They are a feeder club for RB Salzburg and will continue to promote and blood youth players into the RB Salzburg Academy.
New York Red Bulls
As the name suggests, American professional Soccer Club, New York Red Bulls is also owned by Red Bull GmbH. Based in New Jersey, they play at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. The club is part of the Major League Soccer (MLS) as part of the Eastern Conference Division. Established in 1994, the club was originally called the New York/New Jersey Metro Stars but was rebranded to New York Red Bulls in 2006 with the change in ownership.
Their trophy haul includes three Supporters’ Shield titles in 2013, 2015 and 2018.In addition, they have once reached the MLS Cup Final in 2008 and also reached the final of the US Open Cup twice along with Semi-Finals of the CONCACAF Champions League in 2018.
Red Bull Bragantino
Brazilian Football club, Red Bull Bragantino plays in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top division of the Brazil Football League. Based in Bragança Paulista, São Paulo, they play at the Estádio Nabi Abi Chedid. The club was originally called Clube Atlético Bragantino before being taken over by Red Bull GmbH in 2019 and rebranded as Red Bull Bragantino. The traditional kit colours were also changed from Black and white to Red and white.
The club was founded in January,1928. They earned their first promotion to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in 1989 but couldn’t sustain at the top level for a long time.
In their first season with Red Bull, they won the 2019 Série B being promoted to the Série A and also qualified for the 2020 Copa do Brasil round of 16.
Red Bull Bragantino II
Red Bull Bragantino II is also owned by Red Bull GmbH and is based in Bragança Paulista, São Paulo. Being the Red Bull Bragantino’s reserve team, it plays in the Campeonato Brasileiro de Aspirantes under the Red Bull Bragantino umbrella.
Established by Red Bull GmbH in 2007 as Red Bull Brasil with an intent to promote the club to Série A but the plan failed which saw Red Bull reach an agreement for ownership with Clube Atlético Bragantino. In 2016, the club was renamed as Red Bull Bragantino from Red Bull Brasil.
Red Bull have kept the club active and it serves as the reserve club for Red Bull Bragantino.
Red Bull Ghana
Red Bull GmbH owned a club and academy in Ghana that was established in 2008 and played in the Ghanaian Division one League Zone 3B. They were promoted to the second highest league in Ghana in 2009 but later in 2013 got relegated to Division two. In 2014, Red Bull decided to shut down the club and merge the club’s academy with Feyenoord academy forming the West Africa Football Academy (WAFA).
Leeds United Football Club
In 2024, Red Bull GmbH earned a minority stake in English Championship club, Leeds United. As part of the deal, Red Bull will also become the front-of-shirt sponsor.
Leeds United is a storied club from West Yorkshire in England having won three league titles, four second division titles, a League Cup and an FA Cup. However, they haven’t been able to play in the Top tier of English Football many times in recent years. The 49ers Enterprises which is the investment arm of NFL franchise the San Francisco 49ers are the majority owners in Leeds United and Red Bull only have a minority stake but their intent is to provide the financial support to promote Leeds United back to the Premier League’s top division and sustain the club at the highest level.
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