Wrexham Evening Leader

Party backs fans' move

30/11/04

John MarekWALES' newest political party has backed fans fighting to save Wrexham Football Club.

Forward Wales, the left-wing party founded by Wrexham AM John Marek, has passed a motion at its annual conference, supporting fans' efforts to get control of the club.

Wrexham Supporters' Trust has had two bids turned down by controversial club owner Alex Hamilton, but is continuing fund-raising efforts to put it in a position to try again in the future.

The club faces going into administration on Friday.

Forward Wales conference delegates passed a motion, moved by the Wrexham branch, supporting "all efforts to bring Wrexham AFC under the control of the fans and community to prevent future property developers profiting at the expense of the community".

The move comes as the club faces an uncertain future - an uncertainty Forward Wales has blamed firmly on club owner Alex Hamilton.

Fantastic

The motion says: "Football clubs such as Wrexham are vital to the community and the community has responded with a show of support for the club, as witnessed by the fantastic turnout at the Bristol City game.

"They want the club to survive, while Alex Hamilton, the club's owner, just wants to profit from the ground. It's the living embodiment of our slogan, 'People before profit'."

A party spokesman said: "Forward Wales has no power to force Alex Hamilton to sell the club to the fans or anyone else, but we can work at a political level to ensure that this situation never happens again in Wrexham or at any other club.

"Furthermore, we want his transfer of both The Racecourse and Stansty playing fields investigated by the Department of Trade and Industry, as well as the club's main creditor, the Inland Revenue.

"This motion is a statement of intent. We have worked with the supporters' trust and will continue to do all we can as a party to ensure that the football club stays at The Racecourse for another 100 years."

Welsh football bosses have a meeting tomorrow and ex-Wrexham boss Brian Flynn could be the man to do it.


Letter from the DTI's Companies Investigation Branch