Ian Rush is confident Crusaders Football Club can continue growing on and off the pitch after the North Belfast club accepted a substantial investment by a consortium including the legendary Liverpool striker.
It was revealed back in March that the IRAMA company, of which Rush is a key shareholder, was seeking to buy a majority stake in the Crues
Members voted 236 to 36 to accept the proposal, and it is believed the overall investment will be in the region of £2.5 million.
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The move will see the Crues link up with 15 other Ian Rush Academies based in England and France, and it is hoped the investment will help with stadium redevelopment plans and provide links with football agents across Europe, Asia and Africa.
“It’s not 100% through yet, but it should go ahead,” Rush told Gambling.com.
“It will be nice to get involved with Crusaders to try and help them, which is what it’s all about.
“I’ve had a good chat with Barry Hunter, who’s chief scout at Liverpool. He used to play for Crusaders and has assured me it’s a very good club.
“They won the Irish Cup final a few weeks ago so they’re already in good shape on the field, but we want to help them with the financial side of things off the pitch."
Rush praised Crusaders for their achievements on the pitch, including last season's Irish Cup success which saw the club qualify for Europe.
Rush owns 20 per cent of Irama, with multi-millionaire businessman Perry Chopra owning the rest of the sports company looking to buy a 70 per cent stake in the Shore Road club.
“The people there are doing a great job from a football perspective, so it’s not our intention to interfere with that, we’ll be more focussed on helping the appeal of the club to the local community," Rush added.
“I’m talking about things like facilities that can be used by the public and also the players to try and improve themselves. We’ll be there to try and help the club grow in any way we can.”
Rush is yet to see the Irish Cup winners in action but plans to visit Seaview for a match next season.
“I’ve been to Seaview but I haven’t taken in a game yet. I had a business meeting there a few months ago and the people behind the club seem very nice, very genuine," he added.
“I was invited to the cup final but wasn’t able to get over unfortunately, but hopefully next season there’ll be more opportunities, I’ll definitely be over a few times.”
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