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Coventry City: Statement from Supporters Direct

FC United supporters aware of reports in the media of the sad plight of Coventry City Football Club will be interested to know that The Football League have approved an application by Otium Entertainment Group - the Administrator’s preferred bidder for Coventry City FC Limited - for Coventry City to play its home matches some 35 miles away from Coventry at Northampton Town’s Sixfields Stadium for an initial period of three seasons.

Supporters Direct have today put out the following statement.

’Supporters Direct is deeply concerned by the decision of The Football League Board today to permit the preferred bidders for Coventry City FC to ‘relocate’ the Club to Northampton for three seasons.

The decision to approve the removal of a Club from its community in this way will dismay all of those who have suffered the same fate, including supporters of Wimbledon, Charlton and Brighton & Hove Albion. That the decision has come at the behest of a City of London Hedge Fund – SISU Capital – which is trying to recover its losses from an ill-judged investment makes it doubly worse in our view.

We also note that SISU has declined to release a survey of fans, which it is believed shows near universal opposition to playing outside of Coventry, citing a Football League request not to release ‘sensitive commercial information’. The League has denied making such a request in relation to this information. We call on those concerned to release it immediately.

This decision also comes at a time when there is intense scrutiny on the regulation of football on the part of Sports Minister Hugh Robertson MP, MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, and many people across the country. The threat of legislation hangs over the game should change not occur, and incidents like this show us why that is the case.’

Any FC United supporters wishing to know more about he issues involved or express support for Coventry City fans should contact the Sky Blues Trust click here




First Posted ~ 17:01 Tue 9 Jul 2013
News ID ~ 4970
Last Updated ~ 01:52 Tue 16 Feb 2021