Supporters of Morecambe Football Club have confirmed they will hold a mass protest at the next home league game calling for the club to be sold.
The protest, organised by the Shrimps Trust which represents Morecambe fans, has been called to "put pressure" on the current and prospective owners to "progress the sale quickly".
Morecambe FC is owned by Bond Group Investments, whose sole director is Jason Whittingham. The club has been up for sale since September 2022 and many fans have called for a change of ownership as quickly as possible so new investment can come in.
Mr Whittingham, and the board of directors, have both recently said that talks have been taking place with a potential, as yet un-named buyer of the club.
The Shrimps currently sit rock bottom of the Football League, occupying last place in the League 2 table, as frustrations continue to mount amongst their fan base.
The trust released a statement on Friday following a meeting of members to discuss the protest, held at Morecambe Cricket Club.
Fans will meet at The Exchange pub on Regent Road at noon this Saturday (November 16) and then from 2pm, march to the Mazuma Mobile Stadium for the game against Port Vale, which kicks off at 3pm.
Trust members have been asked to be at the Mazuma no later than 2.30pm. Black balloons will be handed to fans to take into the stadium. The trust will provide banners saying 'Save Our Club' and 'Save Our Shrimps' for people to display in the ground during the game.
At kick off the black balloons will be released for display and on the 26th minute, fans will turn their back to the pitch for two minutes.
At the same time, fans with 'For Sale' placards will hold them up for two minutes.
Below, the Eric Morecambe Statue pictured during a protest calling for the sale of the club, held in March 2024.
"We have assurances from the club, and from the stewarding team, that none of the items referred to will be confiscated, and possession of them will not lead to refusal of entry to the Mazuma Stadium," said the statement.
"Banners will only be refused entry if they do not have the relevant fire certificates.
"Protests are most effective when there is mass participation. We urge everyone who will be at the match on the 16th to take part in planned protest action.
"We discussed action after the Port Vale match and various suggestions were discussed.
"As a group it was the general feeling that further action that will involve protest will involve the media and attracting their attention.
"It is imperative that the current and prospective owners feel pressure from us all to progress the sale quickly.
"Further delays are unacceptable. The prospective owners know what is required from the EFL and have done for some time. We as a trust urge them to provide what is needed now.
"We did have contact from Jason Whittingham today (November 8) that stated 'the work to progress is ongoing and I hope to be able to give you a more meaningful update later today if we ie the club, the buyer and me, achieve what we hope to achieve today'.
"No such meaningful update has been forthcoming.
"We will continue to be open and transparent in our communication, we publicly ask the same from the ownership.
"It is the position of the Shrimps Trust that no action should encroach on the pitch or affect the financial position of the club."
On October 31, Morecambe FC issued a statement which revealed they had had talks regarding the sale, as part of the latest board meeting at the club.
The statement said: ‘’This evening, 31 October 2024, an online meeting between the board of directors of Morecambe Football Club and a representative of the prospective purchasers of the controlling interest in the club took place.
‘’This was a very cordial and constructive session where the many various aspects of the club’s interests and aims were discussed in a positive way.
‘’Although we are not at liberty to reveal the identity of the purchasers at this stage, it is positive to be engaging directly with them.
‘’We will provide further updates once more information is received from Bond Group Investments, the current owners of Morecambe Football Club.’’
The English Football League (EFL) has to approve any prospective new owner of any club.
The Shrimps Trust last organised a protest in March, which took the form of a march from the Eric Morecambe Statue to the Mazuma Mobile Stadium ahead of the home game with Wrexham.
Mr Whittingham (below) spoke publicly about the sale in June, when he said "four credible buyers" were interested in purchasing Morecambe FC, and that he hoped to close a deal "within the next 10-14 days".
"Bond Group will continue to fund the club through the sale process," he said.
"We remain fully engaged with the board and those buyers to bring one of them to agree terms as soon as practically possible."
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