The latest Club 1872 investment into Rangers comes at a particularly interesting time for football with fans of some of the game’s biggest clubs feeling powerless against new European Super League proposals.
The decision of six Premier League sides, three La Liga teams and three clubs from Serie A to form a static, cash-rich breakaway league alongside three unnamed teams has rocked the game.
It has rocked UEFA, it’s rocked the Premier League, but more than anything, it has rocked the fans.
Feeling powerless is very much a position that Rangers supporters can empathise with, the Gers’ financial collapse in 2012 an excruciating period in Ibrox history.
The man who helped dig us out that hole in Dave King announced in December his endorsement of Club 1872 in an attempt to help ensure no-one ever digs another one in our name.
At least one big enough to try and bury us in.
The influential fans group will purchase shares from the South African-based businessman to increase fan-led shareholding in Rangers and “never again” allow the club to fall foul of epic financial mismanagement.
However, this has been put on hold during the coronavirus pandemic with funds to be invested directly into Rangers instead with a £2.5m funding target set by June 2021
Fan ownership is a concept which is not without its complexities but in contrast the same can certainly be said regarding the influence of cash-hungry international businessmen.
“Events of this week across European football have once again shown how crucial it is for supporters to have a signficant say in the running of their football clubs,” say Club 1872.
“All the funds we raise until the end of June will go directly into the club, in return for shares in fans’ hands.”
Club 1872 have put their money where their mouth is, investing £430k as part the latest Ibrox share issue and increasing the groups’ shareholding by over 2m shares [Glasgow Times].
The group has a shareholding of over 5% but should enough fans rally to purchase Dave King’s shareholding the group would become the largest single shareholder at Ibrox.
At a time when there’s talk of £4.6bn Super Leagues and fans are becoming disillusioned with their clubs, with Club 1872 Rangers have an opportunity to ensure such landscape-altering decision making cannot be made against the will of the supporters.
Despite the fall out from the European Super League proposals, some fans down south have been making a major suggestion regarding Rangers and Celtic.
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