The town of Athlone is abuzz with speculation about the identity of the mystery backer who wiped out debts of €500,000 from Athlone Town FC.
The humongous debt was related to the club’s stadium in Lissywollen, which was built shortly before the country went bust in 2007. The mystery backer has invested over €500,000 in the club to take care of the debt, something that was confirmed by Athlone Town Stadium Ltd spokesperson Tom Burke after days of gossip in the midlands town.
“This person has an interest in football, Athlone Town FC and the stadium,” said Burke.
“Nothing is going to change in relation to the stadium’s main function, which is to provide a permanent home to its tenant, Athlone Town FC. The investor has no intention of doing anything else with the stadium.
“He’s in a position to assist and is completely genuine and honest about the whole thing. Nobody should have reservations about this, we’re talking about an unassuming and decent guy that just wants to help. It’s an exciting development for football in Athlone,” he added.
The mystery man is due to take a place on the club’s board and there has been speculation that the club’s new sugar daddy may be about to initiate a Galactico-style spending spree to make Athlone the envy of other teams in the Airtricity League.
Burke couldn’t speculate on whether or not this will be the case, but he didn’t rule it out either.
“My only dealings with the investor relate to the stadium, and I’m not aware whether he has plans to get involved further,” he added.
So who could it be? One Direction member and Mullingar man Niall Horan perhaps? Athlone native Mary O’Rourke in a male disguise maybe? Feel free to speculate on the potential identity of the mystery backer in the comments box below.
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