Kia Joorabchian

Who is Kia Joorabchian?

Kiavash "Kia" Joorabchian is an Iranian-born British-educated businessman largely involved in association football.

In the register of directorships at Companies House in London, Joorabchain gives two nationalities, Canadian and British, as well as two names, "Kia Joorabchian" and "Kia Kavash", and two dates of birth, 14 July 1971 and 25 July 1971.

Although routinely described in the press as a football agent, Joorabchian is not a licensed agent. The involvement of unlicensed agents in transfers in the English Premier League is prohibited by the Football Association. Joorabchian does not himself claim to be an agent, saying "I think the agency business is very different". He describes his business as advising players on their rights and clubs on transfers and contracts.

Joorabchian is also involved in the 'third-party' ownership of players, describing himself as an investment manager. In October 2008, he said, "I manage the investment group and obviously when the investment group is profitable, as fund manager, you also get a cut". In 2009 it was reported that the unnamed investors represented by Joorabchian were understood to own the economic rights to 60 or 70 players across Europe and South America.