TWO Oxfordshire businessmen are offering football fans the chance to buy a club - and have their say in running it.

Abingdon-based Carl Christensen and Simon Lassam have joined forces in a bid to turn fantasy football into reality with ThePeoplesClub.com website.

The site encourages people to invest a minimum of £39 in return for which members will be able to help choose the team and have a say in decisions including buying new players, investment in the ground or developing the youth team.

After just seven weeks, 600 people have signed up and the target is to have 40,000 members who will generate between £1m and £1.5m which the duo reckon will be enough to buy a club by the end of the season.

But while the pair are Oxford United fans, commercial manager Mr Lassam says they will not be making an approach to the U's.

He added: "It would be great to buy Oxford United but we are not targeting them specifically.

"But if a group of U's fans got together and said 'let's make a difference', we would support that.

However, it could be Oxford City, Cambridge United or Exeter City, for that matter."

United spokesman Chris Williams said the club was not for sale, although he wished them well with their venture.

Mr Lassam said the idea had been borne out of frustration at the end of England's World Cup campaign.

"The England fans were trying to pick a different team and we came back and thought 'why don't we do this for a proper football club?'"

ThePeoplesClub.com is following in the footsteps of MyFootballClub which recently took over Ebbsfleet United, rivals of United in the Blue Square Premier League.

Mr Lassam believes a £1m investment by ThePeoples- Club.com could make a real difference to a club up to Championship level.

He added the organisation, based at the Bridge View Business Centre, has already been approached by a "lower league" club and expected major interest in the near future.

The People's Club is aiming to take over a football club which must have the long-term potential to reach the Premiership, have little or no debt and enjoy a sizeable catchment area within an hour's drive of the ground.

Mr Lassam said the business was not being run for profit. He will be continuing as a freelance marketing adviser, while managing director Mr Christensen, who previously ran website designer Domino Systems in Kingston Bagpuize, will continue to operate his speed dating website slowdating.com

Mr Christensen said: "At a time when football is increasingly driven by commercialism, this is a chance show the foreign tycoons they cannot forget the fans who are the real lifeblood of the game."

HOW IT WORKS

  • 1. Invest a minimum of £39
  • 2. Wait for other backers (40,000 should be enough)
  • 3. Once you have raised enough money (ideally between £1m and £1.5m), chose a club which meets your budget (could be up to Championship level)
  • 4. You are now a manager - helping to make decisions on and off the pitch.