Mayor leads fans taskforce

IT'S HOPED GROUP WILL ENABLE SUPPORTERS TO TAKE CONTROL OF OLDHAM ATHLETIC

- CHRIS SLATER

ANDY Burnham is spearheading a new taskforce which is hoped will enable fans to take ownership of Oldham Athletic FC.

The Greater Manchester Mayor is bringing together fan groups to help with a community share offer, where supporters would be able to buy a stake in the beleaguered club.

Latics were relegated from the Football League for the first time in their history April. In the process, they became the first club to have played in the Premier League to slip into the non-league.

The 2-1 home defeat to Salford which sealed their fate had to be abandoned due to protests against the club's owner, Moroccan former football agent Abdallah Lemsagam, who is deeply unpopular with supporters angry at his stewardship of the club since he took over in 2018.