What Happens to Mae Green’s AFC Richmond Shares? Could They Stop Zelda’s Takeover?

“Ted Lasso” Season 4 has spent much of its story building AFC Richmond’s women’s team, but the battle happening away from the pitch has become just as important. With Rebecca Welton trying to protect the club she transformed and an unknown buyer quietly collecting shares from Richmond supporters, the final stretch of the season has turned AFC Richmond’s ownership into one of its biggest unresolved storylines.

Season 4 Episode 9, “Mae Rides the Bus,” finally reveals that Zelda Southport is behind the effort. That discovery makes Mae Green’s AFC Richmond shares especially important because the Crown & Anchor owner had already refused to sell. Following Mae’s death at the end of the episode, however, those shares are suddenly left without their longtime owner, which raises one of the biggest questions heading into the finale.

Also Read: Is Roy Kent Leaving AFC Richmond in Ted Lasso Season 4? His Expiring Contract Explained

Mae’s AFC Richmond shares could still matter after her death

Mae has always represented the supporters’ side of AFC Richmond. She was there long before Ted Lasso arrived, remained loyal through relegation and promotion, and became an especially passionate supporter of the Lady Greyhounds in Season 4. Her relationship with the club has always been emotional first, but Rebecca’s decision to make shares available to supporters eventually gave Mae a more concrete stake in Richmond’s future.

The important detail is that Mae appears to own a sizable block of shares. The Milk Sisters’ separate 2.9 percent stake should not be confused with Mae’s holding, because the show treats them as distinct pieces of the ownership puzzle. Zelda’s attempt to consolidate supporter-owned shares therefore depends on several different people agreeing to sell, and Mae has already made it clear that she is not interested in helping an outsider take control of the club.

Her death does not make that storyline disappear. Instead, it makes the fate of those shares more important because Mae seems to have anticipated what could happen after she was gone. That gives the finale a natural way to keep her influence alive even though her own story has come to an end.

Mae left instructions for what happens to her shares

Annette Badland has already confirmed that Mae had a “very large pile” of Richmond shares and had left instructions about what should happen to them. She also teased that the shares are eventually put to “good effect,” which strongly suggests that the show has not forgotten about Mae’s ownership stake and that it will play a role in the finale.

What remains unclear is exactly what Mae arranged. The series has not revealed whether she transferred the shares to another person before her death, left them to someone in her will, divided them among supporters, or created some other arrangement that prevents them from falling into Zelda’s hands. The one outcome that now seems unlikely is Mae’s stake simply becoming available for Zelda to purchase without resistance.

That would also fit Mae’s character. She understood that something suspicious was happening around Richmond’s ownership, and she knew better than most what the club meant to the community around the Crown & Anchor. Leaving instructions designed to protect the club would be completely in keeping with the way she has been written throughout the series.

Could Mae’s shares stop Zelda Southport?

Potentially, yes, although the show has not yet revealed whether Mae’s holding is large enough to stop Zelda on its own. Richmond’s ownership structure has become fragmented because Rebecca previously allowed supporters to buy into the club, meaning Zelda’s strategy appears to depend on acquiring enough individual stakes to build meaningful influence.

That makes Mae’s shares valuable not only because of their size, but because they represent a block Zelda may not be able to obtain. If Mae’s instructions place those shares with people who refuse to sell, they could become one of the biggest obstacles in Zelda’s plan to consolidate control.

The Milk Sisters and other shareholders still matter as well, so Mae’s stake is unlikely to be the only piece of the puzzle. However, the storytelling is fairly clear. The show has repeatedly established that shares are being bought, specifically shown Mae refusing to cooperate, and then teased that she made plans for her own stake before her death. Those details are almost certainly building toward a payoff in the finale.

Who could receive Mae’s shares?

Baz, Jeremy and Paul are obvious possibilities because they are Mae’s closest regulars at the Crown & Anchor and have always represented the ordinary Richmond supporters around her. Leaving the shares with them would make emotional sense because it would keep Mae’s stake in the hands of people who understand what the club means to the community.

Henry Lasso is another intriguing possibility because Season 4 has developed a warmer relationship between Mae and Ted’s son. That would give the inheritance a more personal connection to Ted’s family, although there is currently no confirmation that Henry has anything to do with Mae’s ownership plans.

The more interesting possibility is that Mae’s instructions are not about one person inheriting everything at all. She may have arranged for the shares to remain collectively connected to the supporters, which would fit her entire philosophy about football. Mae has never treated AFC Richmond as something belonging only to wealthy owners. For her, the club belongs just as much to the people filling the stands and gathering in the pub every week.

Zelda’s takeover could give Mae one final role at Richmond

Mae’s death in “Mae Rides the Bus” initially appears to close her story. She spends the day with the Lady Greyhounds, reflects on growing up without the same football opportunities available to women today, and gets to see the team complete an important comeback before Rebecca later delivers the news of her passing.

Yet Mae’s influence on AFC Richmond may continue after her death. She never needed an official position at the club to matter. Her power came from the supporters who trusted her, the history she represented, and her willingness to stand up for what she believed Richmond should be.

The precise recipient of Mae Green’s AFC Richmond shares has not been revealed before the finale, but the show has made it clear that she left instructions for them. Whether that decision is enough to completely stop Zelda remains uncertain, but everything established so far suggests Mae’s final act could become one of the biggest obstacles in Zelda’s attempt to take control of AFC Richmond.