ILYAS Khan last night told fans of his proposal to introduce a Real Madrid style membership system at Accrington Stanley – putting supporters in control of the club.
Stanley’s non-executive chairman, who is also the Reds’ main creditor after his loans helped to save the club from being wound up last year, hopes to convert some of the money owed to him into 200,000 new shares in the next couple of months.
That would give Khan a 66 per cent stake in the club – diluting the current majority shareholding that is held by Eric Whalley and is due to be transferred to Dave O’Neill.
But at a public meeting last night Khan said that he would give that 66 per cent to the fans, in the form of a Supporters’ Trust, for just £1.
And he has asked supporters for feedback on plans to introduce a membership system, giving members a stake and a say in the club.
“My suggestion is that the trust opens a membership scheme that allows people to pay maybe £1 a week or a month,” Khan told fans.
“Let’s say 2,000 people pay £10. That’s £20,000 for the club.
“This is what happens at places like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich – although obviously they have hundreds of thousands of people rather than 2,000.”
After feedback from supporters, he hopes to publish a formal proposal next week.
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