Nandy warns Morecambe and Sheffield change is coming
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy has insisted “change is coming” for the owners of Morecambe and Sheffield Wednesday amid concerns of the futures of the football clubs.
Morecambe’s 105-year history is at risk, with former Worcester Warriors owner Jason Whittingham’s failure to sell the club.
Sheffield Wednesday’s players are set to fulfil their opening Championship game this Sunday, despite wages being delayed and registration embargoes issued by the EFL. The club is owned by Dejphon Chansiri.
And Nandy, who has spearheaded the parliamentary push over the Football Governance Bill, which was passed into law last month, warned the owners of those clubs that change is coming.
She wrote an open letter to Whittingham stressing concerns over the future of the club but confirmed she did not receive a reply.
Change coming for Morecambe
“My message to the owners at Morecambe and Sheffield Wednesday is that the legislation has passed parliament, it is being enacted [and] change is coming,” Nandy told the BBC.
“But while we set up the football regulator, and we are working at pace to do so, they need to recognise that they have a responsibility to be the custodians of a club and hand it on in good shape to the next generation.
“And that’s why I wrote the open letter to Morecambe and have been working closely with local MPs in Sheffield and Morecambe to support fans and to bring about a resolution to what has become a crisis at both clubs.
“The legislation sets out a strengthened owners and directors test. In addition it allows the regulator to look retrospectively at whether somebody is fit and proper to own a club, and it does also allow the regulator in very extreme cases where the club would otherwise be lost, and Morecambe looks like one of these cases, it would allow the regulator to force the owners to sell rather than the club collapsing.”