Hamilton Accies could face expulsion from the SPFL if the club does not provide the league’s governing body with proof of their agreement to lease Broadwood for the coming season, and the ‘club’s very existence is under threat’.
That is the fear of the Accies Supporters Association, who have revealed in an open letter due to be released to their fellow Hamilton fans that not only has no proof of a lease on Broadwood been provided to the SPFL for next season, but they allege that no lease was ever signed on New Douglas Park, despite claims that a 50-year lease had been agreed with former owner of the club and stadium owner Colin McGowan upon his sale of Accies to Seref Zengin in 2023.
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Having met with Gary Booth, Chief Governance Officer of the SFA, and Calum Beattie, Company Secretary and Director of Operations the SPFL yesterday, the Accies Supporters Association now claim that the Hamilton board had ‘mistakenly’ ticked a box to indicate that the club owned New Douglas Park last season when they did not, and as the SPFL rely on self-certification and would only ask for proof of a leasing agreement if that box was not ticked, the lack of a leasing agreement did not come to light at the time.
Furthermore, SPFL rules state that if a club wants to change their home stadium, they must prove that they have engaged with their fanbase and demonstrate that their supporters are supportive of the move.
To that end, the club cited the views of the ‘Hamilton Academical Fans Working Group’, who were said to be reluctantly supportive of the relocation. But while the Accies Supporters Association say they bear no ill-will against the working group themselves, they have labelled the consultation as ‘a sham’, consisting of ‘four or five hand-picked supporters.’
Those misgivings have been recognised by the SPFL, who have informed the Accies Supporters Association that if New Douglas Park is no longer an option, and the supporters do not approve the move to Broadwood, then ‘we won’t meet their Membership Criteria for next season and it’ll go to a vote of the other 41 SPFL members’, and ‘there is the very real possibility that they will kick our Club out of the leagues.’
In a final challenge to the current directors of the club, the Accies Supporters Association have urged them to speak to the wider fanbase about their plans for the future of Hamilton Accies.
“Every step of the way, this Association has had to take the initiative,” the letter read.
“No one from the Club has ever approached us to tell us anything. We are exhausted, like every other Accies fan, and sick to the pit of our stomachs.
“Do your ‘fit and proper’ duty. Speak to the supporters. Explain yourselves, your strategy and your endgame. We deserve answers, not a gun to our head.”
Hamilton have been approached for comment.
