Tony Bloom is living every football fan’s dream. He is the owner of the football club he has supported since he was eight, but to say he wears his success loosely would be an understatement.
The 55-year-old famously travels to games by train, where he rubs shoulders with fellow fans, shuns private planes (not just for environmental reasons) and comes across as every bit the man of the people those who know him best describe. I meet him at the modest London offices of the gambling consultancy to which he is closely linked, where Britain’s 213th-richest person prepares himself a tea and offers to make me one.
His positive impact on Brighton goes well beyond football. While fans chant his name at the Amex Stadium, Bloom has also set his sights on revitalising Jewish life in the city through the creation of BNJC (Brighton & Hove Jewish Community), a landmark community hub that has already begun shaping a new future for the city’s 4,000-strong Jewish population.
Given this is his first full interview in years, the absence of a club press officer in the room or on the phone is striking. When it comes to business, Bloom, a devoted father of two, is very much in control.
The same applies to his public pronouncements in his career as one of the country’s most accomplished sports betters. (He dabbled in slot machines as a teenager and won hundreds of thousands in televised poker tournaments before setting up a private betting syndicate).
But when it comes to his beloved Brighton, the words flow like the goals he loves to see since his arrival as owner in 2009. “I’d go wild,” a suddenly illuminated Bloom vows when asked how he’d celebrate if the club ever achieved his dream of winning a major trophy. “I don’t know exactly how until it happens. That’s the emotion of football.”
You’d be braver than I am to make a wager against one of the country’s most successful professional sports betters, whose access to the most cutting-edge data has helped drive his success on and off the pitch. Brighton returned to the top flight of English football after a 34-year absence in 2017, boosted by a £93m cash injection and a new stadium. Four years later, they finished sixth in the Premier League, qualifying to play in Europe for the first time.
Brighton Celebrating. Photo Credit: Brighton & Hove Albion
“I couldn’t have imagined it going better over the past 16 years,” he says. “I was always confident we would make the Premier League, but I wasn’t sure we could stay there and thrive. The past four years show we can.” For Bloom, Brighton FC is a family affair: his uncle served on the board for four decades and his grandfather Harry was vice-chair for nine years until his death on the team coach in 1980.
He acknowledges that buying a football club is usually a recipe for losing money. “It’s an amazing feeling [to own the club], but I had my feet on the ground,” he says. “In most cases, football ownership isn’t wise. People lose money and often get abuse from fans. I wouldn’t recommend it.
But if I hadn’t stepped in, the club I’ve loved my whole life might have disappeared.
“I had a vision – to get to the Premier League, with a new stadium and a long-term plan. Many fail because they want instant success, which is near-impossible in sport.”
So can we expect to see his children on the board one day? “They are both big Brighton fans,” Bloom smiles. As for himself, he has no plans to step away “for a very long time”.
It’s no wonder Bloom’s name is sung from the stands with the kind of affection rarely reserved for a chairman. As Brighton CEO, Paul Barber, noted when Bloom was awarded an MBE for services to football and the community, his influence extends far beyond the pitch.
Tony Bloom at Brighton, the club he has owned since 2009. Photo Credit: Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Bloom Foundation – the charity he and wife Linda set up – has given millions to causes locally, nationally and in Israel. “My parents were involved in charity, so I understood how important it was,”
he says. “We feel blessed to support so many causes. I did a half-marathon at school for RNLI [Royal National Lifeboat Institution] and I remember the joy when friends donated. We started the Foundation young and hope to build it for decades.”
“British Jews have been here a long time, and they’ll be here for a long time to come.
Two projects are especially close: the charity Overcoming MS, as Linda was herself diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 20 years ago, and BNJC, the state-of-the-art Jewish hub that opened in 2023. He says of his parents that “they’ve had lots of nachas from what we’re trying to do.
“We once had three thriving Orthodox synagogues in Brighton, but large numbers have been leaving and we were concerned what Jewish life would look like for the next generation. I knew that New Church Road shul was looking to sell its property to a developer, with some land kept for a shul and small adjoining community hall.
“It was at that point that Marc Sugarman [long-term friend of Bloom and BNJC trustee] and I began speaking to Brighton & Hove Hebrew Congregation (BHHC) about doing something much more substantial.”
From Covid delays to community politics, the BNJC journey hasn’t been simple. But the end result is a stunning new home for the BHHC, the city’s only kosher restaurant, a mikveh, a nursery, a gym, space for educational and cultural events and accommodation for short-term holiday rental and family living.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis officially opens the BNJC in 2023. Photo Credit: Brighton & Hove Albion.
“It’s attracting all types. Young families, London commuters, people wanting a sea change. We’ve hosted synagogue and youth group Shabbatons, school visits and young adult events and we’re only minutes from the sea. I’d say: try it out!”
In a city where anti-Israel activity has spiked, BNJC is also a place of solidarity with the hostages. “Anything we or anyone can do to publicise the plight of the hostages is so important,” says Bloom.
He ranks the centre “high” among his proudest achievements. “We’re really pleased with how the past two years have gone. BNJC gives the community the best possible chance of thriving for decades to come. Synagogue attendance is up and we are welcoming locals and Jews from further afield too.”
The theme of unity runs throughout our conversation. In Israel, his Foundation supports initiatives bridging Jews and Arabs, religious and secular. In Brighton, he speaks proudly of hosting iftars at the stadium and the friendship between Israeli Jew Tomer Hemed and Israeli Arab Beram Kayal, who played side by side.
Tony Bloom. Photo Credit: Brighton & Hove Albion
What isn’t left to chance is player recruitment. Bloom is confident Brighton are on track for more European football, with Jamestown Analytics – a data firm he is closely linked to – playing a key role. Its insights helped to discover players early and sell them at huge profit. Jamestown and Starlizard, where Bloom is the main client, also provide data to Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise and Scottish side Hearts, where he recently invested £10m.
And Israel? Would he ever invest in a club there? “My fear would be the politics in Israeli football would be more than I can cope with.”
Turning to Jewish life in the UK, Bloom – who is “very proud to be Jewish” – is optimistic: “British Jews have been here a long time, and they’ll be here for a long time to come.” But the rise in antisemitism post-October 7 didn’t surprise him. “Thew situation right now is bleak. I’d like to think that education from a young age across communities would lead to stronger connections and better understanding between faiths.”
As if he hasn’t already done more than enough for Brighton’s reputation, we end where we began: at BNJC. Who’s his dream guest? “Messi could come seven days a week if he wished,” Bloom grins. And what about seeing him in a Brighton shirt towards the end of his career? “Even on a downward trajectory, his salary is far too much for us.”
