Basingstoke Town FC listed for sale on eBay by former director – but club labels it “misguided publicity stunt”
Looking for some inspiration in your Christmas shopping this year? How about a football club? Basingstoke Town are currently for sale and you won't even have to grapple with the crowds to buy them.
The non-league club were listed for sale on eBay yesterday by fan and former director Simon Hood who believes more needs to be done to find a buyer for the southern Premier League side, whose chairman Rafi Razzak will step down at the end of the season after 25 years.
Razzak's departure means the club needs fresh investment, and after being listed for a starting price of 99p yesterday, the club has already attracted 88 bids in 24 hours, boosting its current price to £66,000.
Basingstoke Town have described the move as a "misguided publicity stunt by a former director and fan who does not own the club and is not in a position to sell it".
In a statement the club said: "Management are working hard behind the scenes looking at a number of options for the future of the club."
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Hood said he listed the club on eBay in order to raise awareness of his team's availability and says
"I've had a few messages from people who want offline discussions about the potential purchase of it so I've passed them onto the club," Hood told City A.M.
"Hopefully something will come out of it. To me [eBay] is a good selling platform. It gives everyone around the world the opportunity to have a crack at owning the football club.
"From a fans' point of view the club weren't doing enough to advertise themselves. At the end of the season the chairman steps down from after 25 years so unless we find a buyer, we're screwed and we don't know what the future holds. So I wanted to make sure everyone knew we were for sale and we find a buyer. Whether that's on eBay? Who knows?
"There will be some financial checks going into it because the last thing I want as a fan is for someone to buy it and not be able to run it."
Hood says Basingstoke, who currently play in the seventh division of English football, offer "huge potential" to any budding owner.
"It's got huge potential, the population of Basingstoke is just under 250,000 and the catchment area is huge," said Hood.
"It's right by the motorway. It's right by the airport. It's got a long history and culture. We see people bringing their grandchildren who themselves were brought as grandchildren so it's a huge family club."