Bradford in danger of League expulsion
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Your support makes all the difference.Bradford City have until 8 August – two days before the start of the season – to come up with a financial rescue package or be expelled from the Football League.
The dire warning has been made to the club and is revealed in the administrators' report, which makes damning reading about the state of the Valley Parade club.
The genuine fear that a club in the Premiership just two years ago could be thrown out of the Nationwide League is spelled out in section 5.1 of the report and reads: "The Football League has currently suspended transfer of Bradford City's shares until 8 August. Then, if the proposal has not been accepted by the creditors the club will not be able to participate in the League unless the administrators guarantee sufficient funding for the whole of the season." But the paragraph ends worryingly: "At present such funding is not available."
The proposal from the administrators is for the unsecured creditors to receive 10p in the pound, but that must be accepted by 75 per cent of them. There is a good chance that some will refuse the offer and veto the plan.
Bradford will find it hard to escape their creditors. The players must be paid, under Football League rules and after warnings by the Professional Footballers' Association. Preferential creditors must also get their money.
The administrators' report also reveals some horrific financial figures. If the rescue plan is rejected and Bradford are forced into liquidation the final size of the debt would be £36.18m. The biggest creditors are Registered European Football Finance, who bought and leased back players and are owed £7.3m. The last line on the accounts is the sum of £1.384m to 'trade creditors', or fans who bought season tickets in advance.
Of the playing staff, it is revealed that Benito Carbone was owed £4.9m on the remainder of his contract when he came back from loan at Middlesbrough, a figure now reduced to £3.5m. Ashley Ward is due £1,276,000, captain David Wetherall £734,000, Peter Atherton £592,000, Eoin Jess £471,000, Robert Molenaar £369,000, Andy Tod £320,000 and Danny Cadamrteri £259,000.
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