Basingstoke Town vice chairman addresses concerns

In a wide ranging Q&A with the Gazette, Mr White said he would love to see the side return to the Camrose longer term but the decision was out of their hands.

"In the short term, the move to Winklebury will help the club survive, thrive and kick-start our community.

"We as a board would love to retain the Camrose, longer term it is the best place for football in the town but that decision is out of our hands. We cannot afford to buy the land off Basron so unless there is intervention from somewhere else, we will continue to do all we can to get back there but we have to work on contingency plans.

"Winklebury allows us to get football back in the town meaning we can attract new supports and show what we are doing. There are many bridges to be built that were burnt by the old club.

"We are obtaining a 40-year lease at Winklebury and we see it very much as an important part of the club's growth."

Mr White said things were "24/7" at the moment, with the team working flat out to get Basingstoke back to the town ahead of the start of the 2020/21 in August.

What is the latest with BTFC?

Kevin White: Obviously money is very tight, when you are evicted, made to play in another town and have all your income streams cut off, it is going to be but we are currently planning for next season. We have just had our latest Academy open day which was excellent, planning our Junior teams for next season and putting together the budgets for the first team. We are also having meetings regarding a Women's team next season which is exciting. Oh and there is the little matter of trying to arrange getting back to Basingstoke, so things are literally 24/7 at the moment.

What legal advice have you gained so far?

KW: At the moment we have been told that the Covenant is the right of the owner, so in this case Basron. They bought the land so unfortunately they can do as they please with it. We are currently looking into whether the land was sold on the provision the covenant remained in place. If that was the case, that could be a game changer. However, we have to look at all options including if we cannot get into the Camrose, where else can sustain our growth plans of league football, Manydown? Resurrect the Old Common? We are looking at all options.

Please can you outline all the board members of BTFC and explain how the board came to be?

KW: There is obviously myself and Terry, we have Colin Phillimore who is our treasurer, Martin French who is also the Chairman of the Supporters Club, Sarah Parsons and Katie Oliver who have been involved with the club for many years. In total we have 6 Board Members and we try to marry different expertises together. Sarah and Katie do 90% of all of our matchday work and will look after hospitality when we are in a position to offer it. On a matchday they look after things such as food for the players, our opposition Board Members and referees. We are all unpaid volunteers who are married together by the love of football and wanting our 124 year old club to continue and be the club The town can be proud of. I believe we have a great team and we are still looking to add more expertise so welcome people coming forward with ideas.

We note in your Q&A you reference the association with Basron. What challenges has a perceived link or previous link to Basron throw up?

KW: Our association with Basron is that they evicted us from the Camrose and we have been trying to make the transition as smooth as possible. Morally they should have supported us much more than they have. It is clear that they will not support the club directly as I would like to have seen some transitional funding, something we have requested and had turned down. I have been in four different meetings with them and have another one coming up in the next few weeks.

The perceived links only cause issues from keyboard warriors who haven’t taken the time to find out the facts and instead push their ‘fake news’ agendas. l have seen rumours that we are ‘part of Basron’ and I have even seen rumours that I am apparently on the payroll of the previous owner Mr Razzak because I support the same local Cancer Charity as he does. The real supporters know exactly what our association is and that purely as the evicted football club. The plastic ‘supporters’ who make this stuff up can continue to say what they like, it won’t effect the work we do on a daily basis to ensure the club is here for many years.

What is it in for you and the club to move to Winklebury rather than retaining the Camrose?

KW: I think short term, the move to Winklebury will help the club survive, thrive and kick start our community and other plans for the club. I and we as a Board would love to retain the Camrose, longer term it is the best place for football in the town, but that decision is out of our hands. We cannot afford to buy the land off Basron so unless there is intervention from somewhere else, we will continue to do all we can to get back in there but we have to work on contingency plans. Winklebury allows us to get football back in the town meaning we can attract new supporters and show what we are doing.

There are many bridges to be built that were burnt by the old club, and we are all committed to doing so. Winklebury allows us to do that and also, longer term will be a home as a training facility and the home of our Academy, if we did get back into the Camrose or another site was identified. We are obtaining a 40 year lease at Winklebury and we see it very much an important part of the growth of the club.

Some fans have expressed concerns of 'backhanders' which I'm sure you will be aware of (and I'm sure such allegations are hurtful). What would you say in response to some of these accusations?

KW: Yes I have seen these. They are laughable to be honest, but the main protagonist that I have seen to these rumours isn’t even a fan of the club. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if it stinks to high heaven like this persons does, but I would prefer they speak to me directly about it.

Spouting lies on social media, emailing senior people within the Football Association and saying this to the press could be seriously hurtful if it wasn’t for the fact that I know they have no idea what they are talking about.

Like I have said, our real supporters who come to see us play, know the work that is going into the club by everyone concerned, not just board members but the fantastic volunteers we have and I can assure you 100% there are no ‘backhanders’ from anywhere, no one is on the payroll of the previous club and I am always happy to answer any questions on any subject, my email address is publicly available and I can be found at every home game so if anyone wants to ask me anything, I am more than happy to answer.