FANS of beleaguered Dumbarton are taking their role as supporters literally – and aiming to prop up the club coffers to the tune of £50,000.
The Sons slumped to the bottom of League One with ZERO points this week after calling in the administrators.
Dumbarton were slapped with a 15-point penalty on top of their financial woes[/caption]
Boss Stevie Farrell has spoken to the administrators[/caption]
Sons are one of the oldest clubs in Scotland and were league founding members[/caption]
That prompted a 15-point deduction from the SPFL and fears over the historic team’s future.
Boss Stevie Farrell has already had ” a very positive chat” with Quantuma finance who are now running affairs at the Rock as they aim to find a route out of their financial difficulties.
Dumbarton were one of the Scottish league’s founding members and their fans are already rallying round to do their bit with a fundraising appeal.
Two Sons supporters – Joanne McBride and Cameron Watson – have started a GoFundMe page for the club – and are already more than 20 percent towards their target.
And already this evening they’ve hit the £10,000 mark in their £50k appeal and seen the running total surge even higher.
There’s still some way to go – in both their own appeal and the wider financial future – but there has been optimism since the worrying news was broken in a Scottish Sun exclusive on Monday night.
The move was confirmed on Tuesday and the fans leapt into action to ease some of the fears of staff and players at the club.
A message from the organisers on the online fundraiser said: “Support the fighting fund to save our club.
“Due to the club not receiving financial support from the majority shareholder or monies owed to it, the Directors took the hard decision to put the club into administration in order to find a solution to overcome its financial challenges.
“We would greatly appreciate any support you can give.
“Please be assured that all monies raised will go directly towards player and staff wages and the costs associated with running the club.
“No funds raised on this page will go to the club owners/shareholders or be spent on professional service fees.”
The club employs 18 players, six staff on the football side and another three within the club but it’s believed all jobs are safe at present.
Ian Wright, one of the administrators appointed on Monday said in a statement: “Craig Morrison and I were appointed joint administrators of Dumbarton FC on 18 November 2024.
“The directors of the club were left with no option other than to appoint administrators, following the sale of development land in 2021.
“As administrators, we will be investigating the circumstances surrounding this transaction and other issues affecting the club, but will not be in a position to comment further at this time.
“Our immediate priority is to ensure the club can complete its fixtures and we will be meeting with key stakeholders to ensure this can be achieved.
“We would invite any interested parties to come forward.”
Historic record
- Founded in 1872 – one of the oldest football clubs in Scotland.
- Nicknamed “The Sons,” derived from “Sons of the Rock,” referring to Dumbarton Rock.
- Home ground is the Dumbarton Football Stadium (C&G Systems Stadium), with a capacity of around 2,020 seated spectators.
- Previously the club was based in Boghead.
- Traditionally plays in black and gold kits.
- Won the Scottish Football League championship twice in the early 1890s.
The fundraising duo are not the only fans rallying and the club’s supporters trust added: “
“For some time it has been evident that the club has been operating under straitened circumstances, and whilst the appointment of an administrator is a very serious undertaking, it is to be hoped that an end can now be brought to both the club’s opaque ownership model and the Boardroom tensions which have characterised affairs at Dumbarton FC since the purchase of the majority shareholding by Cognitive Capital Limited in April 2021.
“It is our opinion that the local directors have reached a brave and sensible decision.
“Furthermore, the Trust would hope that any legal due diligence associated with the administration process would encompass the provenance and detail of the funding arrangements for that purchase.
“We are also acutely aware that there is a very human aspect to today’s announcement with a risk to people’s livelihoods, and that is a matter for deep regret.
“Dumbarton Football Club was founded in December 1872 and recently celebrated its 150th anniversary. However, for almost twenty years now the controlling interest in the club has resided with parties whose principal aim has been to employ Dumbarton FC as a vehicle to enable housing development on the club’s iconic site at Dumbarton Rock.
“[Monday’s] announcement marks the continued failure of that endeavour.
“The Sonstrust believes that there remains considerable potential for community benefit in re-energising Scotland’s fifth-oldest football club through an ownership model which firmly places football as its core activity, and we stand ready to work with the administrator and any interested third parties who can help realise that objective.”
The Sons faced Inverness, who have also entered administration, last month[/caption]
Owners Cognitive Capital took over in 2021, vowing to reignite plans for a new, increased capacity community sports and leisure facility at Young’s Farm, without a residential element which previously caused objection.
They also formally submitted plans for nine new houses and 40 apartments on land to the north and east of the ground used for car parking last year.
But they responded to an accusation from local MSP Jackie Baillie directly and insisted they were fans aiming to make the Sons “a stable Championship club” and were moving in “new directions”.
They said: “We acknowledge that there has been a lack of communication in the past between supporters and the ownership group, but we are surprised at her accusations of “venture capitalists seeking to asset strip”.
“This is most certainly not the case.
“Cognitive Capital is made up of football fans and includes shareholders who have strong family ties to Dumbarton.
“It has been our genuine hope and intention that we can bring the stability and certainty that the fans seek.
“It is in nobody’s interest that the football club should stagnate, and it is therefore being led in new directions – we, as owners, are very supportive of this.”
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