The fans final. Come and join us!!!

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Fill the Millennium Stadium for the first ever Fans Final

 

 

ON Sunday 10 April Wrexham and Southend United contest the LDV Final at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

 

But win or lose, in just 70 days time Wrexham FC will cease to exist unless a buyer can be found before the Football League’s AGM on 10 June.

 

Wrexham will face liquidation after 132 years of proud league status. It will be the first established Football League club to go out of existence since Aldershot FC in 1992.

 

Most fans blame Wrexham’s plight on its chairman/property developer Alex Hamilton, who has pledged to bulldoze the club’s Racecourse Ground this summer.

 

But clubs the length and breadth of the UK are in a similar plight: Cambridge United could also be forced to close at the end of the season… and at Bury, Dover Athletic, Hendon FC, East Stirlingshire, Gateshead and Grimsby Town the future is equally bleak.

 

But as profiteer owners have ruined clubs from Doncaster Rovers to York City and Brighton and Hove Albion to Darlington, the FA and Football League have stood by and done nothing to help other than agree a toothless “Fit and Proper Persons” test.

 

So Fans United is calling on ALL football fans to have a Sunday away day on 10 April and join with Southend and Wrexham supporters at the Millennium Stadium in a mass demonstration of solidarity. It will be the first ever Fans Final and give everyone a chance to tell the Football League and FA that enough is enough … step in now and save the heart of British football.

 

A Fans United organiser and Brighton supporter Nic Outterside said: “There is stark reality here that while the Premier League is arguably the best domestic competition in the world, the rest of UK soccer is dying on its feet.

 

“No fewer than 37 of the 72 football league clubs outside the Premier League have either gone into administration or to the brink of it in the past five years. In many cases their problems are the direct result of greed or financial mismanagement by club owners or chairmen.

 

“Over the past four months more than 22,000 fans from over 150 clubs have showed their concern and solidarity at Fans United days at Wrexham and Cambridge.

 

“We now need to make our voice heard even louder. Wrexham and Southend United are likely to use their allocation of 40,000 seats for the LDV final, but that still leaves 32,000 seats unoccupied. So let’s fill the Millennium Stadium! I urge every true football fan to attend the final and tell the Football League and FA that enough is enough!”

 

Simon Johnson, Wrexham Supporters Trust spokesman added: “The support that Wrexham fans have received from the supporters of other clubs has been nothing short of amazing.

 

“This cup final gives us an opportunity to show the world just why Wrexham AFC, and many other clubs like it, are worth saving. It is also a great chance for us to forget our problems and enjoy a great sporting occasion. We would love it if all genuine football fans came along to share our big day with us."

 

Trevor Bashford of Southend United Supporters Trust said: “Football is worth saving - no football club should be allowed go out of existence. This is our heritage we are talking about.

 

“The LDV final is a fantastic day out for football supporters – something our club experienced for the first time last year. The occasion can only be enhanced by becoming a Fans Final. It is a unique footballing experience and I on behalf of the fans of Southend United would love to share the day with true football fans from across the United Kingdom, Europe and world-wide if possible.

 

“The plight of Wrexham, and other clubs in difficulties, needs maximum publicity. Action from the "committees" running the FA and Football League is urgently required.

 

“Indeed our own future is not secure so we fully support the sentiment from Wrexham. Please, please join us at the Millennium Stadium on 10 April.”

 

 

Notes to Editors:

 

1. Tickets for the LDV final start at £18 (cheaper than most Premier league or Championship grounds) and are available directly ONLY from the two finalist clubs:

 

The Ticket Office, Wrexham AFC, Racecourse Ground, Mold Road, Wrexham LL11 2AH (tel: 01978 262129)

Full details at: www.wrexhamafc.premiumtv.co.uk

 

The Ticket Office, Southend United FC, Roots Hall, Victoria Avenue, Southend on Sea, Essex SS2 6NQ (tel: 01702 304090)

Full details at: www.southendunited.premiumtv.co.uk

 

2. Further information or photo and interview opportunities:

 

Email: Nic Outterside seagullnic@aol.com

Simon Johnson simontjohnson@hotmail.com

Terry Jeffreys terry.jeffreys@btinternet.com

 

 

Telephone: 07891 397636 (Nic Outterside)

07981 151958 (Wrexham Supporters’ Trust)

07814 896684 (Trevor Bashford – Southend United Supporters’ Trust)

 

website: www.clubsincrisis.com