Latest news with #BuryFC
ITV News
28-04-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Calls for new football regulator to be based in Bury where sport is 'woven into the fabric'
A town which saw its football club disbanded after financial issues should be the base for the sport's proposed new regulator, its MPs have said. Bury FC were kicked out of the Football League in 2019 after a takeover bid collapsed, leaving the club heavily in debt and sparking calls for a regulator to make sure teams are being run properly. The creation of the regulator is at the heart of the Football Governance Bill, which is due to undergo its second reading in the House of Commons. Bury has now been put forward as the home of the regulator by MP James Frith, who says the "trauma" the town felt "when we faced a no-fan-fault eviction from the Football League... will never been forgotten". The letter is co-signed by Bury South MP Christian Wakeford and Eamonn O'Brien, the leader of Bury Council. In a letter to Lisa Nandy MP, the Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, he said: "We believe Bury is the perfect location for the new football regulator. "As with so many of our great English towns, football is woven into the fabric of Bury. Across the borough we represent four non-league clubs Bury FC, Radcliffe FC, Ramsbottom United and Prestwich Heys. "In Bury we've the resolve and determination you should expect from this new regulator in its quest to protect the beautiful game now and in the future." An independent regulator was the key recommendation of the 2021 fan-led review of football - which led to the Football Governance Bill - commissioned by the Conservative Government in the wake of the European Super League scandal. Its progress through Parliament was interrupted when the General Election was called in summer 2024, but the new Labour Government has picked up the baton. One of the regulator's key early tasks will be to produce a 'State of the Game' review examining football's financial flows, including the controversial parachute payments made to clubs relegated from the Premier League. The bill is back in the House of Commons after it cleared the House of Lords in March on its journey to becoming law. Changes made by the Government to the Bill, in response to concerns raised in the Lords, included placing a duty on the regulator to avoid having a negative impact on the financial growth of English football as well as investment. It also introduced an amendment that would make a club's contribution to the economic and social well-being of its local community part of its corporate governance. And ministers indicated the regulator could eventually be expanded to include women's football. David Kogan has been selected as the Government's preferred candidate to chair the new regulator. Kogan, who has previously advised the Premier League and the EFL on television rights deals in a 45-year career as a media executive, business leader and corporate advisor, is now set to head up the watchdog intended to ensure football clubs in the top five tiers are financially sustainable. The regulator is also crucially set to have 'backstop' powers to impose a financial settlement between the leagues if they cannot agree one. Want more on the issues effecting the North? Our podcast, From the North answers the questions that matter to our region.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
The toothless striker who helped fire Bury FC to glory
After helping fire Bury FC to promotion ace striker DJ Pedro was all smiles. Or at least he would have been had his two front teeth not been knocked out in a match last month. DJ, who bagged 24 goals in 30 games as he helped the reformed Shakers to the North West Counties Premier Division title, lost his pearly whites after catching a stray elbow during a 7-0 victory against Liverland REMYCA. "It happened in the first five minutes," said the 21-year-old. "It was a pretty hard knock. READ MORE: Lorry driver fined £600 for driving too much READ MORE: The criminals locked up in Greater Manchester this week "I carried on playing for a bit, but I lost a lot of blood and got subbed off. After the game I went to the emergency dentist and they were like you need implants and to get it done in the UK it'll be around £2,500 each." DJ had temporary implants fitted so he could carry on playing and wore a gum shield for the rest of the season. But he says the injury left him in a lot of pain and discomfort. "I have to be very careful," he said. "I can only eat certain foods and and it's only a temporary fix so it could break." But it didn't stop him banging in the goals as Bury clocked up as remarkable run of 15 straight wins to take the title. DJ described Saturday's historic victory, which saw almost 9,000 fans turn up at Gigg Lane six years after the club was kicked out of the league and almost went out of existence, as 'absolutely incredible'. "You wouldn't get 9,000 fans at some league clubs," he said "I knew it was going to be packed but seeing it in person was just mental, especially when we lifted the trophy. "I'm not from Bury, but coming here and playing in front of these fans you quickly realise how much it means to them." And now he's finished celebrating he's trying to the raise the £5,000 needed to have dental implants fitted in time for the new season. "When it first happened all the lads were taking the Mick saying I was better-looking without them, but it's football - you can't bite back, you just have to take it," he said. "But I'm hoping to get to fixed so I can get my smile back in time for next season." You can donate to 'DJ's dental disaster' crowdfunder here.
