By Canadian Press

Canadian entrepreneur looks to revive Spanish soccer team, help it climb the ranks

Jun 15, 2023 | 9:37 AM

Canadian Steve Nijjar has always dreamt big. So reviving a soccer franchise in Spain is not out of character.

A former goalkeeper, coach, boxer, gym owner, bodyguard, film actor and producer, Nijjar is a man of his many hats. His latest passion project is Racing Madrid FC.

Nijjar, from Nobleton, Ont., originally came to Madrid to accompany his youngest son Tejpal, a 14-year-old goalkeeper who is in Rayo Vallecano’s academy. While there, his son’s adviser Morris Pagniellointroduced him to Racing Murcia, a team in the fifth tier of Spanish soccer.

Nijjar, 57, was convinced to become Murcia’s president but eventually stepped away — while retaining an ownership stake — because the team was three hours away from Madrid and he felt he wasn’t close enough to do the job justice. But he said he was open to another lower-division soccer option closer to home.

“I’ve always had a dream of building something up and taking it to the top,” he said.

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Last year, they found sixth-tier club Cenafe Club for sale and bought it. Nijjar decided to rebrand it Racing Madrid, not knowing there had been a franchise with that same name that had folded decades before.

The original Racing Club de Madrid was founded in 1914 and went out of business in 1932.

“When I looked up the history of Racing Madrid, I was very taken aback,” Nijjar said. “To the point like ‘Oh my God, Did we just get a club that’s the third-oldest team in Madrid?’

“And so that’s how our journey began. Unknowingly. But sometimes things are meant to be. … When I found out the history of the club was, I took a lot of pride as a Canadian to say ‘OK. We’re really going to get behind this club and make sure we do justice to it.'”

Racing Madrid joins La Liga powerhouses Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid as soccer teams with Madrid in their name.

Racing Madrid finishing eighth in the table last season, just failing in its bid to secure a spot in the Copa del Rey cup competition.

Nijjar, who co-owns the team with Pagniello, says people initially thought he would treat the team like a toy. But he says his hands-on approach to the club as president has won people over.

“I am at every training if not every second training. I’m at the games, I talk to the coaches. I talk to the players, make sure everything’s functioning the way it should be,” he said.

Still, there is plenty of work to be done, with the language barrier not helping.

“So from that perspective, it is very frustrating for me because I’m a very hands-on guy,” said Nijjar, who is on the process of learning Spanish. “If I was in Toronto, I’d know where to do it, who to do it with, who to call, what to get, but here I’ve got to rely on people.” 

Nijjar is holding tryouts in Toronto on June 27-28, looking for two players aged 17 to 23 to sign for Racing Madrid.

Nijjar and his wife Shinaazcontinue to run their other business, Titan Security and Investigative Services, dividing their time between Canada and Spain. 

“We are enjoying (Madrid),” he said. “At the end of the day we are Canadians. We miss our home. And we look forward to coming back and spending time at home. Home’s always home and that’s Canada for us. But this is our home now.”

His other three sons are grown up, living their own lives

Nijjar’s life story is told in a 2021 documentary titled “Anatomy of a Warrior: The Steve Nijjar Story.”

Nijjar was a boy when his family left India for Toronto in 1974. It was not an easy transition. As a young Sikh, he was bullied and abused for being different.

His first job was a buggy boy at the Knob Hill Farms supermarket where fellow employees had difficulties with his first name, Kulwant. So they decided to call him Steve after Knob Hill Farms owner Steve Stavro.

Soccer was his escape. He started drawing attention for his skills in goal at West Humber High School and someone suggested he train with Dick Howard, a former goalkeeper and coach who is in Canada Soccer Hall of Fame.

Thanks to Howard, Nijjar had trials in England in 1985 — after high school — with Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers and Wolves. After a year abroad, Nijjar returned home and signed with the Toronto Blizzard where he played alongside the likes of Mike Sweeney, Igor Vrablic and Hector Marinaro.

After soccer, Nijjar tried his hand at acting and producing in films. He started as an extra, using Spike Lee’s “Gotta Have It: Inside Guerrilla Filmmaking” book to learn more about film-making.

Low-budget action movies like “The Final Goal” with Erik Estrada in 1995, “Safety Zone” in 1996 and “The Protector” in 1998 followed. He says they did well overseas but, not knowing the business, he did not reap the rewards.

In 1999, he brought a franchise in Canadian Professional Soccer League, later coaching the semi-pro Brampton Hitmen to the title before selling the franchise to a partner.

There were hard times.

“Anatomy of a Warrior” details how he battled his ex-wife to have access to their three sons. When his gym went under, he resorted to taking part in pharmaceutical trials to put food on the table.

But he found his feet again, building his security business, serving as a bodyguard to Bollywood stars and returning to other projects.

In 2006 he was involved in a reality TV show called “Soccer Dreams,” a search for young talent to take to England’s Everton. And in 2015, the film “The Last King,” a longtime project of his, was released.

He is currently working on a documentary series on Racing Madrid called “Racing to Madrid.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2023.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press