Finn Harps Back New Owner

Finn Harps Football Club has secured final member approval for its ownership transfer to Freddy Gonzalez.

The entrepreneur, a former international footballer for the Philippines, won the vote at a special general meeting held Tuesday in Ballybofey.

The result cleared the final legal hurdle for the transaction. Members cast 322 ballots in favor of the deal. Two voted against, and one abstained.

This second meeting was required by law to confirm a special resolution. A simple majority was sufficient to pass the motion. The club expects to finalize the transaction by early December.

Gonzalez expressed relief at the outcome. "I’m very ecstatic because all the work behind the scenes that we’ve been doing since July we can now bring out and push forward," he said. He described the next phase as full steam ahead for his newly appointed staff.

The club remains in a financial deficit. Accounts for the year ending December 2025 showed negative reserves of 725,538 euros. Gonzalez has committed to settling these outstanding creditor debts as part of the takeover.

The ownership structure includes specific protections for the local community. A clause in the agreement preserves the club's location in the Finn Valley. The Finn Harps Co-Operative Society Limited retains a right of first refusal if the club is later sold or abandoned.

The deal covers certain club assets but excludes the new stadium and the proposed Centre of Excellence. The club stated that these facilities will be addressed later with the option of co-operative involvement. The parties agreed to work together to determine the best combination of options for those projects.