Halifax Town fans group say club 'in limbo' despite stadium sale decision
Plus, England legend unveils plaque to world's first black international footballer
Hello and welcome to the weekend edition of The Calderdale Lead.
It’s a bit of a football-heavy edition this week with more reaction to the news from earlier this week that Calderdale Council has agreed the sale of The Shay stadium to rugby club owner Ken Davy.
Halifax Town Supporters Club say they have concerns that the offer from Mr Davy may be ‘wholly unacceptable’ if EFL bosses don’t agree to let three clubs share the stadium.
Plus, earlier this week I had the pleasure of being at The Crossley Heath School in Halifax where England legend Viv Anderson unveiled a blue plaque in honour of Andrew Watson, the world’s first black international footballer.
So, on with the news…
Fans group issue note of caution over sale of The Shay
Halifax Town Supporters Club have said the sale of The Shay Stadium to rugby boss Ken Davy has left the club ‘in limbo’.
Calderdale Council last week agreed the sale of the ground - which they’d decided last year they could no longer afford to run - to Ken Davy, owner of rugby Super League side Huddersfield Giants.
Mr Davy, who plans to move the Giants to Halifax whilst a suitable new stadium is built in Huddersfield, has promised millions of pounds worth of much-needed investment in The Shay as part of the deal.
But the supporters club say questions around whether three clubs - the football club, the Giants and the Halifax Panthers rugby league side - would be allowed to play at the same stadium have not yet been answered.
Rugby League’s governing body has already agreed that the three sides can share the stadium but the EFL - which Halifax Town are vying for promotion to - has not yet confirmed if it will agree to such conditions.
A spokesperson for the Halifax Town Supporters Club told The Calderdale Lead: The level of detail made public so far has been relatively limited, so at this stage we feel it would be inappropriate to comment much further other than to say that, along with most other Halifax Town Supporters, we have a significant concern about the EFL allowing three clubs to use the Shay pitch.
“EFL rules state that this is not allowed so unless or until any special dispensation is confirmed we are effectively in limbo. EFL refusal to allow three clubs to use the Shay pitch would make the Ken Davy bid wholly unacceptable and it is of great concern that that we have got to this stage without any significant update.
“As holders of the AVC that has the Shay Stadium classified as an Asset of Community Value we await official communication from the Council of the proposed sale and that the 6 week moratorium period for any community interest to come forward has been triggered.
“We have already made initial contact with Ken Davy and should it be appropriate to have further contact in the future we will do what we can to protect and promote the interests of FC Halifax Town.”
Calderdale Council’s decision-making Cabinet heard on Monday that Mr Davy’s investment would bring The Shay up to Super League standards and improvements will include new floodlights, LED advertising boards, a big screen and the stadium’s West Stand being brought up to usable standard.
Councillors said they understood concerns supporters of both football’s FC Halifax Town and rugby league’s Halifax Panthers have about Mr Davy buying the ground to provide a home for the Giants for a few years while a new ground in Kirklees is developed for them.
It is understood that Mr Davy believes the Giants might need to use The Shay for ‘five or six’ years from 2026.
Upon departure, Mr Davy plans to offer the ground for sale to Halifax Town and Halifax Panthers. If they could not afford or did not want to buy, his company would continue to run The Shay with them as tenants.
He’s also offered a 10-year lease on the stadium to satisfy the Football League’s requirements, should Halifax Town - currently sitting in the National League play-off positions - get promoted to League Two.
The question remains whether the Football League would allow such a ground-share should the Shaymen be successful in their quest for promotion.
Stars in attendance for unveiling of plaque to Halifax football pioneer
England legend Viv Anderson was the guest of honour at a Halifax school this week to unveil a plaque in memory of a footballing trailblazer.
Anderson, who broke a number of glass ceilings during his time as player, was on hand at The Crossley Heath School to officially unveil the memorial to Andrew Watson, the world’s first black international footballer.
The former twice European Cup winner, who was the first black player for England, was joined by England and British and Irish Lions rugby great - and Crossley Heath old boy - Brian Moore for the ceremony.
Andrew Watson captained Scotland to a 6-1 win over England on his debut in 1881.
Watson's mother, Anna Rose, was a black woman born into slavery who along with her mother Minkie was freed as a young girl.
His father, Peter Miller Watson, was a white Scottish solicitor highly influential in Demerara where he looked after the affairs of Sandbach, Tinne and Co - a firm that exported sugar, coffee and rum and had been involved in the slave trade.
At aged ten, he passed his entry exams to become a pupil at Queen Elizabeth’s Free Grammar School - now Crossley Heath - in August 1866.
He left in 1871 to become a pupil at King’s College, London and enrolled in 1875 at the University of Glasgow, a city home to the world-famous Queen’s Park FC, credited with inventing the passing game, where Watson became a star. He won the Scottish FA Cup three times and played three times internationally winning on each occasion.
And Anderson said he felt ‘honoured and privileged’ to be at the event, where a number of historians who’d worked on getting the plaque placed spoke.
He said: “He must have been very strong-willed, back in the 1800s it must have been quite difficult for him.
“And he got through it and did very well. I've got nothing but admiration for him.”
These included Llew Walker - author of Andrew Watson, a Straggling Life: The Story of the World's First Black International Footballer - Bill Hern, co-author of Football’s Black Pioneers, organiser Mark Metcalf and Richard McBrearty, curator at the Scottish Football Museum.
Well, that’s it for this edition of The Calderdale Lead.
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Enjoy what is left of the weekend and we’ll be back in your inboxes on Wednesday!
Andrew