Assem Allam: I saved Hull City
Extended interview with Hull City owner Dr Assem Allam
Hull City owner Dr Assem Allam says thinking that he could be the last local owner of the club makes him sad.
The 77-year-old is in talks with a few parties, one of which is believed to be a Chinese consortium, to sell the club, which has been up for sale since 2014, after the Football Association turned down his request to change their name to Hull Tigers.
Allam says he only took over Hull City in 2010 to save the club and that he is proud to have achieved promotion to the Premier League from a winding-up order in under two-and-a-half years.
The Egyptian-born businessman told ITV News that talks are ongoing with a few candidates about a takeover at the KCOM Stadium, with negotiations at an advanced stage with one potential buyer.
He confirmed that the matter was being dealt with by the Premier League, with the new owner required to pass the 'fit and proper' test as per the league's regulations.
Allam maintains that the application to have the club's name changed to Hull Tigers was purely to increase commercial opportunities around the world.
He says that locally the club will always be called Hull City, but being in the Premier League requires the club to think about global revenue streams and the wider audience.
Allam said he regrets buying the football club without understanding that there are minorities who would shout louder and "try to control situations" than the majority.
However, he said that although he wasn't hurt about the fans' criticism of his tenure – he was more hurt about potentially being the last owner of the club from East Yorkshire.