Coventry City Vice Chairman Chris Anderson is left feeling that there is no place for the Sky Blues in Coventry thanks to those trying to turn Coventry into a "City Of Rugby".
The "City of Rugby" Steering Group is a formal collaboration between the Rugby Football Union (RFU), Rugby Football League (RFL), Engage! Coventry, Coventry Sports Network, Coventry Rugby, Wasps, Coventry Bears, Warwickshire RFU, Premiership Rugby, Coventry Sports Foundation, Coventry Sports Trust, Coventry City Council, University of Warwick, Coventry University, C&W Chamber of Commerce, Coventry Schools Union and the Millerchip Family Fund, have invested in an initiative to try and upgrade the sports of Rugby Union and Rugby League, both of which have long been seen as minority interest sports in the City of Coventry with support, before Wasps were brought to Coventry from West London via Wycombe, for the two main rugby playing teams a lot less than that for speedway and ice hockey.
However, Chris Anderson feels that this is trying to ensure that there is no place for Coventry City Football Club in Coventry and told the Coventry Observer's Les Reid: “I am not privy to all the political and legal manoeuvrings and can only speak for the football club. But when you take into account the broader context of what has happened to the stadium that was built for the football club, the recently unearthed email by a Council employee about the Butts Park Arena, and now the Academy training centre, as the person running the football club day to day, it does at times feel like there is no place for CCFC in Coventry.
“All the while we are seeing concerted efforts being made to turn Coventry into a CIty of Rugby, it is becoming ever more difficult for the football club to operate in the community whose name it bears.
“This is exactly what shouldn’t be happening, and t think we should all take a step back and think about what the football club means as a business and community asset. For one, football is the most popular sport in the country and this city, and I can’t imagine that the decision makers in this community would want Coventry to be known as the city that evicted its football club. I also can’t imagine that the community that came together to honour Jimmy Hill at Coventry Cathedral would really want Coventry to be the city known for making it impossible for the football club to continue training and playing the game we love. There must be a reasonable way forward, and the football club is ready to be part of finding a solution.
“We are releasing our new kits for the 2016/17 season today. I would ask readers to take a look at the players in the images to promote the kits. They are worn by Coventry City footballers, kids born and raised in Coventry. We should be proud of them and all the hard work they’ve done and the sacrifices their parents have made. Who would not want them in the heart of this community?”
More on this: http://coventryobserver.co.uk/news/requests-keep-coventry-city-academy-ignored-says-sky-blues-boss/