THE “mess” at Basingstoke Town Football Club (BTFC) desperately needs to be resolved, according to campaigners looking to save the borough’s club.

A campaign has been launched, called Keep Football in Basingstoke (KFIB), to protect BTFC after a row erupted between the outgoing club’s chairman, the borough council and fans.

Rafi Razzak, chairman of BTFC, confirmed in November he would be leaving the club, meaning the club’s ground – the Camrose – would be sold to repay loans to Mr Razzak and fund a new ground.

But, Mr Razzak, who has run the BTFC for 25 years, blasted Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council (BDBC), which owns the Camrose with Mr Razzak, for its “lack of tangible help” in finding a solution.

But with the club no closer to finding a solution to paying Mr Razzak’s loans off, supporter Simon Hood has set up KFIB in a bid to protect the town’s club.

He said: “We as fans feel misled. It’s a mess. It feels as if Mr Razzak is blackmailing the council into making a quick decision. He didn’t get his way when the council decided not to build a new stadium last year.

“Mr Razzak has said he wants to leave a legacy for this club and said it wouldn’t have lasted as long as it had without him.

“But when you raise a child and they reach 18 years old, the parent doesn’t tell the child they want the money back they invested in them.”

Two options for a new ground considered by the club included building a smaller capacity ground on the Camrose site and selling excess space to developers, or redeveloping Hampshire FA’s headquarters Winklebury football site, a space which is leased to the county’s football association by BDBC.

However, according to Mr Razzak both options are no longer viable as financially a deal would not secure loan repayments on developing the current ground’s site and Hampshire FA are not willing to regenerate their site for the club.

A strongly worded statement quoting Mr Razzak was released this week.

In it he said: “We are very disappointed with the lack of tangible help from BDBC, which, despite encouraging us to submit proposals over several years, stopped our original plans for a new stadium in the town last year.

"At numerous meetings since then, they have offered to help, but in reality they have not offered any new sites for us to consider and they seem unlikely to allow a retail development at Camrose – which could help BTFC to build a new stadium within the town.”

He added: “We are now left with few options, and anything we do from now will only involve ourselves. It’s very sad indeed.”

In 2007, BDBC, which owns 29 per cent of the Camrose, signed a 75-year agreement with Hampshire FA to manage the Winklebury site.

BDBC’s cabinet member for communities and community safety Cllr Simon Bound said the council was “surprised that there is now such a pressing deadline to leave that site”.

He said: “I am of course concerned about the future of the club and its teams, and have had representations from the supporters about the timescale now being imposed.

“The reality is that finding the right options for the future of the club, such as other funding solutions or community ownership, will take considerable time.”

Cllr Bound added: “As owners of some of the land at the Camrose site, we are keen to fully explore the option of improving the facilities there and we have not yet seen, despite frequent requests, any evidence to show why that is not a viable option.”

Tension between club and BDBC has brewed since £10 million plans to be a 5,000-capacity ground and training facility at the town’s Old Common, in Eastrop, were rejected after councillors refused planning permission in January 2016.

Martin French, chairman of the supporters’ club, said: “Whilst Mr Razzak and BDBC have been unable to find a solution for a possible new ground within Basingstoke, very little investment has been put into the Camrose ground itself over the past few years, this despite there being over 30 years of the current lease remaining.

“However, once Mr Razzak bought the freehold of the ground last year, the 30 year lease is now no longer relevant. Mr Razzak now wants to end his ownership with the club and wants to recover the money he has loaned the club over the period of his control. Something which is rare in today’s football ownership.

“So what would the fans like to see? It is quite clear. Mr Razzak, who is a very wealthy man, could as a goodwill gesture, handover the freehold, wipe of the debt to allow some form of Supporters Trust, involving the fans, the local community and other possible investors, to rebuild a working partnership with the local council, to improve facilities at the current Camrose ground and allow Basingstoke Town to continue playing football in the town going forwards.”

In a statement received by The Gazette it said: “Rafi Razzak has made a significant contribution to BTFC for more than 20 years, and it is fair to say that without him, the club would have closed many years ago.

“The money potentially recovered from the redevelopment of the Camrose site is nowhere near the full amount of money that he has invested over the decades.”

Talks will continue between the council and the club, with Basingstoke MP Maria Miller urging Mr Razzak to meet with her.

She said: “Supporters are concerned about this uncertainty. Previous attempts to move the club to an alternative site at Old Common were unsuccessful for a variety of reasons and it is important that any further plans have broad support and are financially viable.”

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