Four local investors will join CEO Anthony Precourt in the runup to Austin FC's debut season, including one very famous Austinite rumored for months to be signing on, the team announced Friday at a downtown Austin media event at 3Ten ACL Live.

Actor Matthew McConaughey, investment firm head Eduardo “Eddie” Margain, Dell executive Marius Haas, and oil and gas executive Bryan Sheffield are the four prominent Austin residents in what Two Oak Ventures, the entity owning the rights to operate Austin FC in Major League Soccer, characterized as an expansion of the team’s ownership group.

"I kind of feel like a guy who wanted to start a band and I found my four rock stars," said Precourt, the majority partner and CEO of Austin FC and Two Oak Ventures.

"Matthew brings something special to this club; he means so much to Austin. He's got so many ideas. He's so passionate. He's going to be super-involved," Precourt said. "Eddie has worked for years to try to get MLS to Austin, and he and I have been working together for a couple of years on this.

"With Marius, you know what Dell has done for the city of Austin over the years, and his leadership in the technology world is going to be a huge asset for our club. Bryan and his family has been incredible entrepreneurs in the state of Texas, super-bright and super-committed, and he loves soccer as well. The group is something special."

McConaughey, of course, is the best-known of the four investors, with a movie career spanning more than 25 years, including an Oscar-winning performance in the 2013 film "Dallas Buyers Club."

His appearance at an LAFC soccer match in May with LAFC minority owner Will Ferrell sparked speculation from supporters that he might take on a similar ambassadorial role for the new club. By wearing an Austin FC T-shirt at that match, captured and shared through social media, McConaughey effectively became Austin FC’s first celebrity fan.

“This ball, I believe, is the greatest invitation in the world,” McConaughey told the audience, explaining that he’s encountered soccer constantly while traveling around the globe. “It's the most multicultural sport we have; it's as diverse a sport as there is in the world. Nothing crosses borders like a soccer ball does.”

McConaughey is being dubbed the “minister of culture” by Austin FC. Asked about his role, he said it would first be to “work with the creative direction of how to go forward with the team, our branding, our messaging, etc.,” but followed up with an overarching vision to “align values and bridge relationships.” In particular, he noted a potentially positive and symbiotic relationship with the University of Texas.

He also led a minibranding exercise, expounding on the team’s adopted color, green (or, as the team prefers, “verde”), and what that meant to Precourt and the rest of the investment team.

In espousing why he got involved, he simply said: “This is about legacy for me. I'm at a time in my life where I don't want to spend time or investments or money on things that I don't look forward to dealing with on Monday morning.”

Precourt noted that the other three investors, while they won’t be as public facing as McConaughey, will be actively involved in the buildup to opening day.

Margain is founder and managing partner of Pixiu Investments. According to his LinkedIn page, the Austin-based investment firm focuses on commercial real estate and oil and gas, and the firm’s current investment profile includes four Austin-based businesses: the historic downtown landmark the Scarbrough Building, apparel maker Outdoor Voices, cancer vaccine maker Elios Therapeutics and Easy Tiger, a bakery and bar with several Austin-area locations.

Margain spoke of family traditions involving soccer during his comments, at one pointing hoping that Austin would develop a rivalry with Tigres UANL, one of two Liga MX teams representing his original hometown, Monterrey, Nuevo León.

Sheffield is founder and former CEO of Parsley Energy, an Austin-based oil and gas company, and shifted to an executive chairman role with his company at the beginning of 2019. He was named to the Forbes 40 Under 40 list in 2017; according to the publication, the company was founded in 2008, with a 2014 IPO vaulting him to billionaire status.

Sheffield noted in his remarks that Austin has a robust economy and said he is excited about how the new team might make it even more robust. He noted the throngs of Real Madrid fans he saw assembling before a match while traveling recently, making him think of the potential for small businesses near the stadium on match days.

Haas is president and chief commercial officer with Dell EMC. According to his bio on the Dell site, he came to Dell in 2012 from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP, where he oversaw investments.

Haas, in addition to speaking of his longtime love for soccer, discussed Dell’s role in working with GoalControl to bring goal-line technology to soccer, which aids referees in determining close-call goals more accurately.

While Precourt will still retain his governor role within Major League Soccer’s Board of Governors as part of his leadership duties, Margain will be appointed alternate governor.

Unlike other major North American sports leagues, MLS operates as a single-entity league owning its teams and player contracts. Before Friday's announcement, Precourt was technically the sole “investor-operator,” rather than an owner. The four investors announced Friday are now part of an expanded investor-operator group.

Though Precourt declined to give specifics as to their percentage of ownership and amounts invested, he did note that he retains majority investor status under the new partnership. He also noted that two more investors might come on board soon.

For Austin FC President Andy Loughnane, Friday’s announcement made the soccer team feel more authentically Austin, in the way that the Sept. 5 groundbreaking for the new stadium — announced at a Wednesday event at Austin FC headquarters — made the team feel more real.

“This is one of the more milestone moments in our club’s young history,” Loughnane said. “This is an infusion of local energy, an infusion of local love. As the group clearly stated, this is their investment in their love of Austin, and it's an investment in their legacy.

“It's not just a group of individuals who happen to live in this amazing city,” he added. “It's a group of individuals who have a deep connection to soccer and want to see the sport grow in Austin.”