Two days apart this month, two companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange signed deals to buy children's soccer programs in North America. One is a Texas company owned by a Spanish professional soccer club. The other is a Tokyo company that runs kids' sports schools and says it has built its expertise across all 47 of Japan's prefectures (roughly, its states). Neither said what it paid.
Line the two timelines up and they look like the same playbook. Each buyer made a smaller move in May, then came back in September to sign for a local program that already had kids, coaches and families on the roster. For anyone trying to guess where money with overseas roots shows up in North American youth sports next, that May-to-September sequence is worth studying.
Who Is Buying What, and Who Stays
On Sept. 14, Nomadar (ticker NOMA) signed a definitive agreement (a final, signed deal) to buy a majority stake in Fox Soccer Academy (FSA). FSA is a youth soccer organization with about 2,100 players in New York, North Carolina, the United Kingdom and Austria. Nomadar is based in Marshall, Texas, and describes its business as sports, tourism, technology and infrastructure. It is a subsidiary of Cádiz CF, a 115-year-old professional soccer club in Spain, and its shares began trading on Nasdaq on Oct. 31, 2025.
FSA was co-founded by Christian Fuchs, who won the English Premier League (England's top professional league) with Leicester City in 2016, and Raluca Gold-Fuchs, the academy's General Manager. Both will remain partners in FSA after the deal closes. Here is how Christian Fuchs, FSA's co-founder, described staying on:
"Remaining as partners alongside Nomadar allows us to expand that vision while continuing to support the academy's identity, methodology and long-term development."
Two days later, Leifras (ticker LFS) agreed to buy every share of A To Sports, a children's soccer school operator in Victoria, British Columbia. The seller is the school's owner, A to Co., Ltd. The company says A To Sports is expected to become a wholly owned subsidiary and its first operating base in North America. Leifras did not publish a player count for the Canadian school.
Leifras gave four reasons for picking Canada. It pointed to growth potential in soccer and favorable trends among families with children. It also cited a fit with its sports-education values and the chance to build a model it can repeat in other countries. Kiyotaka Ito, Leifras's representative director and CEO, framed the deal as an export of the company's home-grown approach:
"The signing of the Share Transfer Agreement represents an important step toward bringing the value of the sports education we have cultivated in Japan to the world."
Both Buyers Ran a Rehearsal in May
Nomadar's first step was a partnership. On May 6, it signed a strategic framework agreement with FSA covering international tournaments, training camps and an exchange of coaching methods. Cádiz CF coaching staff could take part in FSA programs, and a possible joint venture was left on the table. According to the September announcement, the two sides then completed due diligence on FSA's operating structure, player programs, coaching methodology and commercial model. Four months of working together came before the agreement to buy.
Leifras rehearsed at home. On May 21, it announced a deal for 100% of Tokai Sports, a Japanese sports school operator with about 1,200 members and roots going back to 1984. Tokai was expected to become fully owned by Leifras on June 1. The writer's read is that Tokai looks like a practice run at home for Victoria. It was the same kind of purchase, every share of an established local school, made first in a market Leifras already knows.
What a Shareholder Gets When the Price Stays Private
Without a price, shareholders in both companies have to judge these deals by what is visible: players, locations, coaching approach and who stays. Joaquín Martín, whom Nomadar's May announcement identified as CEO of the Americas and Global Vice Chairman, put the case for FSA in those terms:
"Fox Soccer Academy brings a recognized international footprint, a strong development methodology and an operating presence in markets that are strategically important for Nomadar."
Leifras pointed instead to fit, noting that A To Sports coaches children to enjoy sports, learn independently and grow. Leifras also says it ranks among Japan's largest operators of children's sports schools by membership and facilities, citing research firm Tokyo Shoko Research.
Scale matters for reading these deals. Leifras had a stock market value of about $57.8 million as of Sept. 23, 2026, per StockTitan, and Nomadar's was about $22.7 million as of Sept. 14, 2026, per StockTitan's NOMA page. At companies that size, a single soccer school appears likely to be a meaningful piece of the story shareholders are buying, which is part of why the missing price stands out.
Both deals are pending. Nomadar expects to complete the FSA purchase in the coming weeks, subject to customary closing conditions, and Leifras expects its A To Sports purchase to close on January 1, 2027. No assurance can be given that either transaction will close as announced. Stock figures above are dated and will change, and nothing here is investment advice.
Takeaways for Investors
The Front Door Is One Local Program
Both deals are for an existing youth program with players already enrolled. That looks like a faster way to show up with coaches, families and a trusted local name on day one than opening new sites from scratch.
Watch the May Move to Guess the September Move
Nomadar partnered before it agreed to buy, and Leifras struck a deal at home before signing one abroad, with both first steps announced publicly months ahead. The takeaway is that a listed company signing a framework deal with a youth program, or buying a small operator in its home market, may be starting the same sequence.
Listed Buyers Leave a Public Paper Trail
Because both companies trade on Nasdaq, each step shows up in announcements anyone can read, even when the price stays private. That gives outsiders a step-by-step record of how cross-border youth sports deals get built.
Founders Who Stay Are Part of What Gets Bought
Fuchs and Gold-Fuchs will remain partners in FSA after closing, keeping the faces families know attached to the program. The writer's read is that this continuity is part of what Nomadar is paying for, even with the price undisclosed.
