The Mahaka Group founder and Bakrie & Brothers president have been eyeing to take over Oxford United F.C., also nicknamed The U’s since 2018, stating that the English football club has “a long tradition and history and a proud reputation for the people of Oxford."

The acquisition of The U’s, a member of the League One division of the English League, took place on Tuesday and was announced at the Oxford United annual general meeting. While the composition of the club’s stakeholders remains the same, both Erick and Anindya are now taking the lead as major shareowners.

As for their next plan, Anindya explained that his party has four aspects to focus on for the club. First, he said, with the new management under the new Chairman Grant Ferguson and the new CEO Tim Williams, he hopes “that Oxford United will have an 'on-the-pitch performance' and all targets can be achieved well.”

Second, Oxford United will implement better corporate governance because after all, football is also a business. Third, it also wants the community development element of Oxford United to be strengthened. 

“We want the residents of Oxford – with their tagline 'the city of dreaming spires' – to be attached closer to the club,” said Anindya in a statement released on Wednesday.

Finally, Bakrie Group as a business entity that aspires in the field of energy transition also wants to align with the net zero mission that Oxford county looks to implement.

Furthermore, Anindya highlighted that the new management will determine important targets in the future, including supporting the club to be promoted in the English Football League Championship division and the plan for the new stadium, among other things. 

He also emphasized the focus on player development, which is not only strengthening the senior team, but also building an academy to nurture young players. 

“Hopefully the facility at Oxford United would later be used as a training ground for our national players. We ask for the support of all Indonesian people." 

Anindya’s involvement in Oxford is not new. Prior to acquiring the football club’s shares, he worked with Oxford University in life science research with the Larry Ellison Institute and the Tony Blair Institute, as well as assisted Indonesian studies at the prestigious university.

He underlined that his investment in The U’s was also a form of support in the difficult time for British and European people who are currently affected by inflation and the energy crisis, the Russian-Ukrainian war and various other things. 

"This shows our commitment to improving state relations between Indonesia and the United Kingdom," he said in a statement released on Wednesday.

For the record, Bakrie Group has long been involved in the sports industry. The conglomerate has also owned football clubs Brisbane Roar (Australia), SAD Deportivo (Uruguay) and C.S. Vise (Belgium). 

At the local level, the group also houses the sports club Pelita Jaya and currently Persija Jakarta and Arema Malang. Anindya Bakrie is also known as the General Chair of the Indonesian Aquatics Association (PRSI).

Erick, meanwhile, also has a number of portfolios in the field of sports. Through Mahaka Group, in 1993, he founded Jakarta basketball club Satria Muda which remains one of the biggest professional basketball clubs in Indonesia to date.

His love for basketball also led him to become the chairman of the Indonesian Basketball Association (Perbasi) in 2006-2010 period, as well as president of the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) for two consecutive periods of service in 2006-2010 and 2010-2014.

Erick, who currently serves as the State-Owned Enterprises Minister, also grabbed headlines in 2013 when he obtained 70 percent shares of FC Internazionale Milano or Inter Milan from Massimo Moratti. 

In 2016, he relinquished his majority ownership of the Italian club to a Chinese company, Suning Holdings Group Co., and handed over his position as club president to Steven Zhang two years later.