It’s official; after much deliberation by the Football League, Coventry Football Club have been given permission to share grounds with Northampton Football Club up until at least the 2015/16 season, much to the disappointment of their Supporters Direct fan group
The football club, currently playing in League One had to relocate after falling out with the owners of their 32,600 capacity home ground, Ricoh Arena.
Football League board of directors are said to have ‘reluctantly approved’ the request made earlier this week by the Sky Blues’ administrator, Otium Entertainment Group to have the home games played almost 35 miles from their current home ground.
A statement by The Football League said the board had ‘deep regrets’ about the fact that Coventry Football Club’s administrators could not come to a mutual and amicable resolution with the owners of the Ricoh Arena. They also stressed however that the club are not in the clear yet as they still need to meet a number of pre-set requirements before they can be granted full approval.
The statement continued, “The Board wanted to ascertain where Coventry fans will be calling their home ground for the 2013/14 season which starts less than a month away. Despite this the Board wants to stress the fact that their go ahead was merely on a conditional basis. If the club ultimately wants the approval to be permanent then they need to exit administration in line with the conditions set forth in the League’s regulations, and successfully transfer its League share.”
The statement goes on, “The administrators, Otium will need to prove to the Football League, the intentions of the club to move back to Coventry in the near future. This proof is needed in the form of a £1m Performance Bond.”