Swindon Town CEO confirms football club was 'days away' from entering administration

  • Watch Ross Arnott's report here.

The new chief executive of Swindon Town Football Club has said that the owner's decision to sell some of his shares was vital in ensuring the club did not enter administration.

Anthony Hall was appointed as the new CEO of the club after the departure of Rob Angus earlier this month.

It comes just weeks after the owner of the historic club, Clem Morfuni, confirmed he was forced to sell some of his shares in order to pay a debt of nearly £3 million.

At the time he faced criticism from supporters who had endured strained relations with previous owners. However, the club says the decision was made to prevent the club from entering administration.

Speaking to ITV News Mr Hall reassured supporters that Mr Morfuni was fully committed to the team and that he was still in a position to remain as the owner of the club.

Clem Morfuni bought the club in July 2021.

"Because of the decision the club and Clem made the future of Swindon Town is secure," he said.

"It is in the right hands, we will take this club forward. Clem is very honourable and to this day he has not taken a single penny out of this football club. He is invested in moving the team forward and everyone should feel assured by that fact."

Mr Hall also confirmed that when Clem took over in July 2021 he was not aware of how much debt the team had, a figure of nearly £7 million.

Swindon Town CEO Anthony Hall says that the club is now financially secure.

He confirmed that until this point the owner had paid off more than £6 million of that debt with his own money.

"He had three days to settle the debt and the decision he made was done with the best intentions of the football club," he continued.

"There is a deal in place for him to purchase those shares back and Clem is working on that.

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"If that wasn't settled it was very close, the club would have entered administration. We want to draw a line under this now and move forward.

"We have to be one and move forward as one."

The latest developments off the field come at a time when the team on the pitch are performing well under new manager Michael Flynn.

The Robins sit in the play-off spots in League Two and remain one of only two teams in the EFL to have not lost this campaign.