The Chairman of the Football League, Greg Clarke, has told the BBC Coventry and Warwickshire that he feared that Coventry City FC would cease to exist.
After one of the companies that own the football club, Coventry City FC Ltd. was placed into administration last March because of the on-going rent dispute with the owners of The Ricoh Arena, ACL and which now faces being liquidated, but the club will continue to fulfil its league obligations and play its games.
Mr Clarke told BBC Coventry and Warwickshire radio, “We sailed so close to the edge with Coventry City there were times I thought there'd be no Coventry City.”
In order for the club to continue playing the Football League allowed the so called ‘Golden Share’ to Otium Entertainment Group, after ACL rejected the CVA proposed by the administrator Paul Appleton. Mr Clarke said the Football League had little option but to allow the transfer of the share otherwise the club would have folded and been removed from this season’s fixture list thereby paving the way for the promotion of a club from the Conference to League Two and a League Two club promoted to League One to take Coventry City’s place.
Mr Clarke said, "We were faced with choices. One of the choices was to say 'no' which would have meant Coventry City wouldn't have been able to complete their fixture at the start of the season and wouldn't have been eligible for the Football League. They would have been gone.
"We would have promoted one more club from the Conference at the end of the season and gone back to 72 clubs without Coventry City. I really think people need to understand the dangers the club faces, and how hard the Football League is working to make sure the principle objective of keeping the club alive is served."
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