Early this week, a clip on TalkSport surfaced around the internet showing Heavyweight Champion of the world, Tyson Fury, claiming he was offered the chance to buy Morecambe FC. Within the interview, Tyson said he was “really thinking” about the proposition put to him by the club.
This news comes as current owners, Bond Investments Group, who bought the club just before the conclusion of the 17/18 season, have seen Worcester Warriors fall into administration. The financial issues at the club has prompted many at Morecambe to worry about the state of the Shrimps. A club statement back in early September from the Board of Directors set to reassure fans that the finances of the two sides were not linked, however, Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham (who represent majority shareholders Bond Group Investments) announced they would be preparing the club for sale and stepping back from the board themselves.
Since the news of this, rumours have circulated around potential buyers ranging from international business people to local friends of the club. The only confirmed potential buyer has been Tyson Fury in his interview with Jim White and Simon Jordan. This also comes just after the club announced Fury’s short sponsorship for the 22/23 with his ‘Gypsy King’ brand.
Amid the COVID pandemic, Tyson Fury looked to give back to the community by buying out the training pitches round the back of the stadium during a time of financial difficulty for the club. The initial proposition was for the pitches to be used “for the community.” Ever since pitches were able to be used again by the public following the easing of restrictions, they were used but have been neglected beyond repair and since been all but abandoned.
On top of this, Tyson bought out the gym facilities located within the stadium rebranding it as ‘The Tyson Fury Foundation’. In the same Instagram live that Fury claimed the training pitches would be used by the community, he said the gym would be his foundation but seems more of a desperate attempt to turn buying a cheap local personal gym as a good deed.
The now-retired boxer could be the perfect candidate for the Shrimps next owner. The club are more than familiar with dodgy owners following Diego Lemos’ acquisition of the club in September 2016. The Brazilian businessman came in out of nowhere and with his promised millions was painted as a saviour, however, the money never arrived and neither did he. The story was set be up but in the final hour Morecambe were bought out and secured safety in League Two in the same week.
There is no disputing that Tyson Fury has a heart devoted to helping those in need, from the local homeless populous to donating the winning of a £10,000 bet to DEBRA. However, his presence at the club has had mixed feelings so far and if the club is to stay afloat amongst the issues at the board, Fury will have to treat the club better than the training pitches.
In this situation, the club must exercise caution to guarantee that another ‘Diego Lemos’ does not occur as Morecambe could be plundered into further trouble. In the same statement that announced the football club is up for sale, Bond Group Investments Ltd were adamant that the club would only be sold to the right buyer, only time will tell who they establish as the correct candidate to sell to.