Bangor City fans follow AFC Wimbledon and FC United of Manchester example
- Published
Bangor City players celebrate their Europa League win over Honka in 2010
Supporters of Bangor City have formed a new club as fears grow over the future direction of the historic Welsh club.
A Supporters Trust is being set up and an application has been submitted to the Football Association of Wales (FAW) to enter the new club in the Welsh system.
Bangor fans' actions are not the first time supporter disenfranchisement had led to new clubs being formed, with AFC Wimbledon and FC United of Manchester the most prominent phoenix clubs.
Bangor City
Bangor City are among the biggest names in Welsh domestic football.
The club have won the Welsh Premier League three times, have lifted the Welsh Cup on eight occasions and represented Wales in Europe.
But supporters have become increasingly worried over the way the club has been run over recent years.
The Citizens were demoted from the Welsh Premier League at the end of the 2017-18 season after being refused a domestic licence to play in the top-flight.
In January the club requested assistance from shareholders after having its electrical and water supplies turned off by creditors
They have also avoided winding up orders over unpaid tax.
In response Bangor City FC Supporters Association (BCFCSA) voted in favour of forming a new club as an "insurance policy".
A Supporters Trust is being set up and a formal application has been made to the FAW over entering a new club into the Welsh system.
But the proposed Supporters Trust has emphasised it is not seeking to undermine the present club.
They say the new club will "provide the ethical practical expression of an organisation respecting, promoting and valuing the history of Bangor City Football Club and its predecessors".
AFC Wimbledon fans at their final League One game of the 2018-19 season at Bradford City
AFC Wimbledon
Arguably the most notable of fan-owned clubs in the UK, The Dons were founded by former Wimbledon FC fans in 2002 after the Football Association had allowed the club to relocate to Milton Keynes.
The club that started out by holding trials on Wimbledon Common in 2002 reached the Football League in 2011 after five promotions in nine seasons.
The phoenix club, owned by the Dons Trust, began life in the Combined Counties League Premier Division - the ninth tier of English football.
The club had two main aims upon their foundation: to return to the English Football League and to move back to Merton, which they see as the club's spiritual home.
AFC Wimbledon have played at Kingsmeadow in Kingston upon Thames since their formation but are set to move to a new £25m 11,000-seater stadium, which could be expanded to hold 20,000.
Their new home will be 250 yards from Wimbledon FC's old Plough Lane ground, where the infamous 'Crazy Gang' of Vinnie Jones, Dennis Wise and John Fashanu used to play.
Wimbledon secured a a fourth successive season of League One football on the final day of the season and avoided relegation by virtue of goal difference.
Next season they renew their rivalry with MK Dons, who have gained promotion from League Two.
FC United have played at Broadhurst Park since 2015
FC United of Manchester
It's fair to say that American businessman Malcolm Glazer's takeover of Manchester United in 2005 did not go down too well with the majority of the club's fans.
Supporters adopted the green and gold colours of the club's first strip to show their opposition at home matches.
There was disenchantment among many of the club's fans with the growing globalisation of the game and felt it took it away from its traditional fan base.
This led to the formation of FC United of Manchester in 2005 and they entered the North West Counties Football League Division Two.
Under long-serving manager Karl Marginson they earned three consecutive promotions and were promoted for a fourth time to the National League North in 2015.
FC United are the largest fan-owned football club in the United Kingdom by number of members and operate as a community benefit society, with the board elected by the club's members.
Bury's Gigg Lane was the club's home during its formative years, but since 2015 they have played at their purpose-built Broadhurst Park ground in Moston.
The club were relegated from the National League North at the end of the current 2018-19 campaign.