CEO & Shareholder · Guarda Futebol Clube – Futebol, SAD

JaiAgarwal

He did not buy the biggest club. He bought the one he could change.

Sports Entrepreneur · Football Club Owner · Sports Marketing Professional

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The Story

A club in the mountains, and a plan that runs through India

There is a football club in the hills of central Portugal, in the country's highest city, 1,056 metres up. It was founded in 2019. It plays in the fourth tier. It is not a sleeping giant, and nobody would call it a trophy asset.

In August 2026 a young entrepreneur from India acquired the majority of its football company and became its chief executive. He had spent years studying European football from the inside — its structures, its academies, how clubs are actually run — first for a business degree in London, then for a master's in Madrid.

He could have chased something glamorous. He went looking for somewhere his decisions would actually land.

“I wasn't looking for the biggest club or the most glamorous opportunity — I was looking for a project where I could genuinely make a difference, and I found that in Guarda FC.”
Jai Agarwal · to Khel Now, August 2026

Three days before the deal reached the Indian press, his club won its first trophy of the season.

1,056mGuarda — Portugal's highest city

2019The year the club was founded

3–0Supertaça da Beira Interior, 8 August 2026

4thCampeonato de Portugal — the national fourth tier

The Club

Guarda Futebol Clube

ForteFartaFriaFielFormosa

Five words for the city, carried on the crest of its club. Guarda FC was built on sustainable operations, youth development and a close relationship with the town it carries on its shirt. In 2024 it constituted its professional football company — Guarda Futebol Clube – Futebol, SAD — and presented its squad to the city on the steps of the Sé Catedral.

Then it went and won. District honours, the Supertaça da Beira Interior — 3–0 at Sertã, with goals from Bernardo Santos, Nuno Machado and Rodrigo Mendes — and a return to the Campeonato de Portugal, where the squad now mixes Portuguese players with footballers from several corners of the world. The season opens on 16 August against Alpendorada.

“From our very first conversation, it was clear that he shares our ambition of building a club that develops young talent while remaining true to its identity and the community it represents.”
Gabriel Caldiera Alves · President, Guarda FC SAD

Jai Agarwal with the president of Guarda FC beside the club crest — The photograph that announced the new chapter

The Journey

London · Madrid · Guarda

London

Brunel University London

A BSc in Business Management — where a lifelong obsession with football met the discipline of running things.
Madrid

LaLiga Business School

A master's in Global Sports Marketing, and years spent studying European football structures, player development and club operations up close.
Guarda · 2026

Guarda FC – Futebol, SAD

Acquired the majority stake and stepped in as chief executive, joining as a strategic partner for the club's sporting, commercial and international growth.
Next

The pathway

Training projects in India, and somewhere in Europe for young Asian players to actually go.

The Vision

A bridge between India and European football

India has a hundred million people who love this game and almost no route into European football. Guarda FC is small enough to build one — and the fourth tier is where a squad number is a real thing, not a press release.

“My ambition is to help it grow sustainably while also creating opportunities for talented young footballers from Asia to experience European football. If we can build a pathway that helps even a handful of players realise that dream, it will be a meaningful step.”
Jai Agarwal