Crawley Town takeover 'not only good for the club but the community', says general manager

The cryptocurrency investment group, founded by Americans Preston Johnson and Eben Smith, completed the takeover yesterday [Thursday, April 7] after purchasing former owner Ziya Eren’s controlling shares of Crawley Town Football and Social Club Limited.

Daryl Morey, president of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, businessman Gary Vaynerchuk and TikTok personality Bryce Hall are all part of the new investment group.

The takeover by WAGMI United sees the Reds become the first Football League club to be owned by cryptocurrency investors.

Allman was delighted that Crawley had the opportunity to blaze a trail in this regard, but stressed that Crawley will not be fundamentally changing because of the new ownership model.

He said: “We’ve long said that Crawley Town have had to do things differently than other clubs in the past to get where we’re at.

“A move like this can not only be good for the club but the community.

“If we can be trailblazers and maybe buck the trend then I’m all for that.

“I’m keen to say, while there is a new way of thinking coming, we’re not going to be moving away from the fact that football is for the fans. Whether that be locally, internationally, wherever.

“John [Yems, Crawley Town manager] has been around West Sussex football longer than I’ve been alive. I’ve been at the club for the last five, six years or so. Everyone knows what this club means to everyone.

“If we can make this club that everyone loves and knows that little bit better, while also enticing a new audience, then I can only see that as a good thing.”

Johnson and Smith, who will take on the role of club directors, have pledged to usher in a new era of transparency and accountability to supporters and the community.

For example, the owners will allow fans to decide whether they can continue in these directorial roles should they fail to win promotion to League One by their second season.

Allman admitted he had not seen that kind of transparency at board level before, but the Reds' general manager said the new owners’ level of accountability should be embraced.

He added: “I haven’t really seen that anywhere else in football but I think the fans can see that the owners are holding their hands up and saying, ‘look, we’ve got some ideas, we want to work with you guys’.

“Fundamentally, we all want the same thing. We want Crawley Town Football Club competing at the highest possible level with as many fans here at the stadium as possible following the club.

“The fact that they’re being held accountable to it I think is brilliant, and more clubs should be like that.”

READ THIS: 'Crawley will always be my club' - Departing technical director and CEO sends heartfelt goodbye to the Reds following takeover.

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