Boyzone stars at Chorley FC's Victory Park amid talks of a tie in

Boyzone members Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy and Westlife's Brian McFadden have been at Chorley FC's Victory Park to watch the side take on Solihull Moors.

It's the first match for the part-time National League North club since it was announced this week that members of the boy band are considering taking an active role in the club.

Chorley FC are hoping to follow the Wrexham “playbook” - following the lead of the North Wales side which caught the public's imagination after it was bought by Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds.

McFadden said he wants Chorley fans to dream of the Football League after bringing some pop star glamour to Victory Park.

McFadden said: "I love the romance of it, I love the idea of getting involved in the club, especially a club like Chorley that belongs to the community."

Shane Lynch of Boyzone has a pic taken with a Chorley FC supporter. Credit: Press Association.

The former Westlife singer took his place in Chorley’s small VIP stand along with prospective fellow investors Duffy and Lynch from Boyzone.

Clad in Chorley shirts and clutching pints of beer, the trio signed autographs and posed for photographs with fans, with their presence the only topic of conversation around the ground.

Fans at Victory Park were enthusiastic about their possible involvement

It has not yet been confirmed exactly what role McFadden, Lynch, Duffy and Boyzone lead singer Ronan Keating, who could not attend the match, will play at the club.

But McFadden revealed a deal is near, adding: “It’s pretty close. I’ve just been talking about coming to the next home game with my family so you’ll probably see quite a lot of us. We’re in.”

It was the Irish star’s first visit to Chorley, and he explained: “Shane’s business partner bought the club seven months ago and asked Shane to get involved.

“Shane’s not really a football man but he knew that me and Keith love football so he got us involved, and Ronan. We want to be part of something from the ground up.

“I’m a Manchester United fan myself, I’ve got season tickets at Old Trafford, but it’s a corporation. You look at something like Chorley Football Club and you see this belongs to the town, it belongs to the people, it belongs to the community.

“For us to be able to get involved in something at that level and to try and take it to the next level, there’s a bit of romance to it.”

Match action between Chorley FC and Solihull Moors. Credit: Press Association

The proposed tie-in with the popstars came after Chorley were served with a winding-up petition by HM Revenue and Customs but the significance of that has been played down by the club.

According to a court filing, the petition was served on Tuesday and the case is currently listed as open.

Chorley, whose stadium holds 4,100, were taken over by London-based entrepreneur Prince Yemoh last May and have big ambitions of climbing through the league pyramid.

They are currently sixth in the sixth tier and hope to follow the path of Salford who, backed by a group of players from Manchester United’s famous ‘Class of 92’, rose through the non-league ranks to League Two.

Chorley lost the game against Solihull Moors 3-1.

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