American millionaire buys English side Barrow

Hands up if you’ve heard of Barrow?

I didn’t think so, but soon Barrow AFC may become a club American fans become familiar with as the Skrill Conference North club have been taken over by a U.S. businessman.

Paul Casson was born in the town of Barrow-in-Furness, which is in the far North West of England close to the famous Lake District, but now lives in Dallas and is president of telecommunications provider Casson-Mark Corporation in the United States.

His close family ties to the club and the town urged Casson to put forward a takeover bid and after the club’s board voted in favor of his proposal the Texas businessman will soon become the new owner of Barrow. Fans of the Bluebirds are extremely hopeful of their future under Casson.

Casson has been all over English TV, as he tries to revive the former fourth division side who haven’t been in the football league since they were relegated in 1970. Most recently Barrow won the FA Trophy in 2010 and have also enjoyed several good FA Cup runs however their new American owner is aiming to bring the glory days back to Barrow by launching the club from the sixth-tier of English soccer and back into League Two where he believes they belong.

Speaking to Sky Sports on Thursday, this is what Casson had to say about his investment of over $1 million in Barrow.

“It’s not a risk at all, I think it’s a great opportunity,” Casson said. “I was born here and my mother and father were born in Barrow, so I have a large family legacy in the town. My father died in September, so the primary reason is to leave a legacy in his memory. He would have been proud to see his son be a custodian of the football club in the town he loved. I’ve followed the club from afar since I left. It was very painful when they got relegated from the Football League, which is one of the reasons I started this. I want to try and get them back to where I remember them.”

You have to admire the Texan for pumping money back into the town where he was born before he made his millions. If Casson does succeed in turning Barrow into a football league club within the next five years, will we see Bluebirds shirts popping up across the USA?

Now that would be something and would provide a proud legacy for his father and their family.

Follow @JPW_NBCSports