Fair Game call for urgent intervention to save the future of Basingstoke Town

“It is heartbreaking news. Basingstoke and The Camrose should be inseparable. Football is at the heart of communities up and down the country. The council has the chance to rectify this wrong. We urge them to work with the club and deliver a realistic long-term like-for-like solution.”

Niall Couper, CEO of Fair Game

FAIR GAME today gave their full backing to Basingstoke Town in their bid to overturn last week’s decision by the National Planning Inspectorate to grant planning permission for a new housing development at their old ground The Camrose.

The club has been hoping the permission would be denied, which would have opened up a possible route back to their old home which has been lying derelict since April 2019.

The issue goes back to 2016, when the then chairman and owner of the football club, Rafi Razzak, sold the freehold of The Camrose land to Basron Developments, also owned by Rafi Razzak. He evicted the club three years later and the club have been forced into a nomadic existence ever since.

Niall Couper, CEO of Fair Game, said: "It is heartbreaking news. Basingstoke and The Camrose should be inseparable. Football is at the heart of communities up and down the country.

"The council has the chance to rectify this wrong. We urge them to work with the club and deliver a realistic long-term like-for-like solution.

"Fair Game stands shoulder to shoulder with Basingstoke Town. Hard-working community clubs need support."

To find out more about the club’s ongoing campaign to return to their home ground visit this site.