Andy Burnham is spearheading a new taskforce which is hoped could enable fans to take ownership of Oldham Athletic FC. The Greater Manchester Mayor is bringing together fan groups to help with a community share offer, where fans would be able to buy a stake in the beleaguered club.
Latics were relegated from the Football League for the first time in their history in April. In the process, they became the first club to have played in the Premier League to slip into the non-league.
The 2-1 home defeat to Salford which sealed their fate had to be abandoned due to protests against the club's owner, Moroccan former football agent Abdallah Lemsagam, who is deeply unpopular with supporters angry at his stewardship of the club since he took over in 2018.
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With 12 minutes left to play of the Salford match, hundreds of fans ran onto the Boundary Park pitch, holding up a banner that read 'GET OUT OF OUR CLUB', and refused to leave. It took over an hour to clear the pitch meaning the game had to be shelved. The remainder of the game was played behind closed doors several hours later.
Mr Lemsagam indicated in January this year he would be willing to sell the club. Since the club's relegation, the Oldham Athletic Supporters' Foundation announced they were fundraising to try and purchase to Boundary Park, which is not owned by Mr Lemsagam, as well as to provide a "safety net" for the club in case it is needed.
Mr Burnham has now announced he has put together a taskforce which he hopes could help them go further. The plans are hinged around a community share offer, which would allow supporter groups and individuals to buy a stake in OAFC.
He said: “Sadly, as we have seen all too recently in Greater Manchester at Bury, new owners armed with little more than empty promises can come into clubs at the point of crisis and make matters worse.
"Football clubs lie at the heart of our communities and require a community response that provides a long-term solution. Fans and local communities can’t be left high and dry again. We are determined not to let this happen with Oldham.
“Latics are at the heart of the Oldham community. To protect its future the club should, ideally, be in the hands of the community, not private individuals.
"Supporter groups are discussing plans for a community share offer that will enable the fans and the wider Oldham community to come together and secure that future. If successful, the club’s future should be secured for the next 100 years and beyond."
The group, involving Co-operatives UK which is supported by Co-operative Bank, and the Football Supporters' Association (FSA) are calling for all a number of reforms that would given fans more of a say in how their clubs are run, including giving them a right to invest meaning they are afforded the protection of company law as shareholders.
He hopes giving fan groups local political backing could help them achieve this.
“I have got huge respect for Andy Walsh and the FSA, who are continuing the work of an organisation I founded over 20 years ago called Supporters Direct" Mr Burnham continued.
"It’s my belief they could potentially achieve so much more - and expand supporter ownership of our clubs - if they were working with the backing of mayoral combined authorities. That is what I want this taskforce to explore, starting with Oldham Athletic.”
Paul Whitehead, from Oldham Athletic Supporters’ Foundation, said: “After a long period of upheaval for the club, we are committed to finding solutions that can unite the fanbase and command the support of all those who care about Oldham Athletic. We are putting in the work now to establish a structure for the longer-term stability of the club.”
Rose Marley, CEO of Co-operatives UK, said: “A co-operative is when a group of people come together to serve their members’ needs. In this case we’re talking about the fans as members. Famously started by Oldham’s sister town Rochdale, co-operatives are becoming the go-to business model for communities and businesses that want to take control and ownership of their assets."
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