Who is La Equidad? Get to Know Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's Newest Club | OneFootball

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are expanding their portfolio of investments to Colombian soccer team, La Equidad.

A U.S. consortium, led by millionaires Al Tylis and Sam Porter, purchased La Equidad with the help of several celebrity investors, including Reynolds, McElhenney and Eva Longoria. World Series champion Justin Verlander and his wife, Kate Upton are also backing the takeover. According to The Athletic, the consortium acquired the club at a valuation in excess of $30 million.

The big names attached to the purchase are no strangers to team ownership. Both Reynolds and McElhenney purchased Wrexham, the oldest club in Wales, back in 2020 and helped the team achieve back-to-back promotions from the National League to EFL League Two to EFL League One.

Tylis, Porter, Longoria, Verlander and Upton, meanwhile, joined forces to purchase half of Liga MX side Club Necaxa in 2021. Reynolds and McElhenney also invested in the Mexican club in Apr. 2024.

Now, the group is turning its attention to Colombian soccer.

Who is La Equidad? Get to Know Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's Newest Club

La Equidad competes in Colombia's top-flight, Categoría Primera A. The team is based in the nation's capital of Bogota and plays its home matches at the Estadio Metropolitano de Techo.

The club was founded in 1982, but it did not join Categoría Primera C until 1993 when it was finally considered an amateur team. Once La Equidad became a professional side, it made it to Categoría Primera B in 2003. Three years later, the club earned promotion to Categoría Primera A.

Despite playing in the Colombian top-flight for the next two decades, La Equidad never topped the league. It finished as the runners-up in 2007, 2010 and 2011, but could never claim the ultimate prize. In fact, the club's only piece of silverware since its promotion came in 2008 when it won the Copa Colombia.

Most recently, La Equidad finished 13th in Categoría Primera A Clausura. The team only secured five wins in 19 matches and ended 2024 with just 22 points.

If anyone knows how to turn a team around and get it to the top of an unlikely mountain, it is Reynolds and McElhenney. Wrexham are on the cusp of their third consecutive promotion this season and could be playing in the EFL Championship next year.

“This is an incredible opportunity to enhance the club’s growth in every aspect and to become an integral part of Colombian football," Porter said in a statement to The Athletic. "We are privileged to collaborate with an outstanding group of investors, including Eva Longoria, Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney, and Shawn Marion, who have been instrumental in our project at Club Necaxa in Mexico. Together, we are committed to elevating the Club to its highest potential.”

Although it remains to be seen if a similar documentary to Welcome to Wrexham will follow the purchase of La Equidad, the club undoubtedly is on its way to expanding its fanbase far beyond Bogota.