Football fans walk from Rochdale to Oldham ahead of derby clash to launch Dale Trust's crowdfunding campaign

Date published: 02 February 2022

Around 60 football fans walked from the Crown Oil Arena to Boundary Park on Saturday (30 January) ahead of the derby clash to officially launch the Dale Supporters Trust’s crowdfunding campaign.

The campaign comes to help raise funds towards legal fees as it and eight members of the Rochdale AFC board face legal action from the company behind last summer's 'hostile takeover' attempt.
 

Read more: Dale Trust launches crowdfunding campaign to help fight Morton House High Court claimPublished: 28 January 2022

The walkers were accommodated by both the Flying Horse Hotel and the Summit Inn on the route, with refreshments at the end of the walk provided by the Oldham Events Centre.

A spokesperson for the Dale Trust said: “Big thank yous must go out to the Flying Horse and the Summit Inn for accomodating our weary walkers, and the Oldham Events Centre for the refreshments upon arrival and inviting us into the fans’ bar with the shezurrection cocktails available.”

The Trust is fundraising to fight a High Court claim which was filed earlier this month by a company called Morton House MGT and First Form Construction Ltd (Morton House), which was previously linked to acquiring shares in Rochdale AFC.

The attempted takeover by Morton House became subject to an EFL investigation into whether 'any relevant person(s) and/or any persons wishing to acquire control of the club complied with the requirements of the Owners’ and Directors’ Test (OADT)'.

The 'takeover' was abandoned in August after those involved withdrew from the EFL OADT test.

The EFL said at the time that “Morton House MGT, its directors, and representatives, have confirmed to the league they are refusing to co-operate with the league’s ongoing investigations.”

Because unfair prejudice claims can be very costly, the Dale Trust is hoping to raise £130,000 towards the costs of defending proceedings. So far, around £15,000 has been raised.

Donations can be made via Crowd Justice.