2 Apr 2008Fans have chance of owning their club

There is a big chance that British football clubs will increasingly fall into the hands of supporters' trusts.

That is according to Supporters Direct, which said that when the football bubble bursts in this country, fans will have a great opportunity to buy their clubs.

"All we have seen in football is growth, and all we have seen in the economy is growth, but it does not follow that that is how it is always going to be and that there is never going to be an opportunity to invest," said Kevin Rye, Supporters Direct spokesman.

"There is, and there will be. It is a waiting game and that is what you have to do, and they are there for the long-term as it is very much a long-term project."

It comes as Share Liverpool FC tries to get at least 100,000 Liverpool fans to buy a member share, so that the group can buy the club from the current owners.

Mr Rye said that supporters are increasingly buying their clubs and this trend could continue in the future.

"There are supporters running 150 clubs in the UK. There are 13 clubs in ownership or control [of supporters]. As far as scale goes, three of those are football league clubs, and they operate in league two," he continued.

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