Sport
Leeds buy time as mystery backers continue guessing game
By Nick Harris
14 February 2004
Miracle Man or Walter Mitty? Leeds United still do not know which label best suits Michael Ezra, 30, the Ugandan businessman who has claimed to have £90m to save the club.
As Leeds were yesterday granted a fifth extension to their standstill agreement with their major creditors, and a Yorkshire-based consortium claimed to be "going in the right direction" towards their own £20m buyout, new details emerged about Ezra.
None of them throws any light into how the self-styled "property tycoon" made his "fortune", the size of which is unknown. He is not listed as the owner of any major assets in Uganda, nor has the £600,000 Lamborghini he reportedly imported ever been seen in public. Harvard University, where he says he studied, has no record of any graduation.
Two facts have been confirmed. As a teenager in 1987, he was indeed a winner at the "All Africa Disco Dance Championships", held in Kampala. And he has represented Uganda at athletics. As Mike Ezra, he entered the 400 metres at the 1997 World Indoor Athletics Championships, clocking a time of 53.74sec in the heats. He was eight seconds slower than the eventual gold medallist and more than two seconds slower than any of the other 33 entrants.
Leeds's standstill agreement has been extended to 27 February. Trevor Birch, the club's chief executive, continues to seek options beyond Ezra and the Yorkshire consortium.
Leeds buy time as mystery backers continue guessing game
By Nick Harris
14 February 2004
Miracle Man or Walter Mitty? Leeds United still do not know which label best suits Michael Ezra, 30, the Ugandan businessman who has claimed to have £90m to save the club.
As Leeds were yesterday granted a fifth extension to their standstill agreement with their major creditors, and a Yorkshire-based consortium claimed to be "going in the right direction" towards their own £20m buyout, new details emerged about Ezra.
None of them throws any light into how the self-styled "property tycoon" made his "fortune", the size of which is unknown. He is not listed as the owner of any major assets in Uganda, nor has the £600,000 Lamborghini he reportedly imported ever been seen in public. Harvard University, where he says he studied, has no record of any graduation.
Two facts have been confirmed. As a teenager in 1987, he was indeed a winner at the "All Africa Disco Dance Championships", held in Kampala. And he has represented Uganda at athletics. As Mike Ezra, he entered the 400 metres at the 1997 World Indoor Athletics Championships, clocking a time of 53.74sec in the heats. He was eight seconds slower than the eventual gold medallist and more than two seconds slower than any of the other 33 entrants.
Leeds's standstill agreement has been extended to 27 February. Trevor Birch, the club's chief executive, continues to seek options beyond Ezra and the Yorkshire consortium.