FERRARA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Joseph Portelli, president of Maltese football club Ħamrun Spartans, has become the new owner of Ars et Labor Ferrara, the Eccellenza club that carries on the legacy of the historic SPAL.
The takeover was officially completed on Thursday following the successful conclusion of the due diligence process and an agreement with the previous owners, Juan Martin Molinari and Andres Adolfo Marengo.
The Ferrara-based club, which competed in Italy’s Serie A between 2017 and 2019 under the name SPAL, declared bankruptcy in 2025 after severe financial difficulties and restarted in the Eccellenza division.
With the acquisition, Portelli becomes the first Maltese football administrator to purchase a foreign football club.
Ownership has been transferred with immediate effect to JP Football Holding. At the same time, Marcel Bonnici, chief executive of Ħamrun Spartans and a close associate of Portelli, has been appointed chief executive officer of Ars et Labor Ferrara.
In a statement, the club pledged to do everything possible to restore Ars et Labor Ferrara to the level its history and tradition deserve.
The new ownership said its priority is to ensure financially sound and stable management, laying the foundations for the club’s gradual growth and long-term success.
Further announcements on the club’s new management structure are expected in the coming days.
The new owners also expressed their intention to meet local media and supporters to present their redevelopment project, describing the fans as “the heart and the most precious asset of the club”.
The club said it was confident it could build a successful future for Ars et Labor Ferrara.
– photo Net News –
(ITALPRESS).
