Andy Burnham makes promise to Oldham Athletic fans as taskforce launched to save Manchester's latest crisis club

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham says he will not abandon Oldham Athletic fans as they bid to save their football club following relegation from the Football League.

Oldham's problems have been well-documented in recent years, with fans unhappy at the ownership of Abdallah Lemsagam and his brother Mohamed, the club's sporting director. In the last 12-months, fans have stepped up protests against the Lemsagams, with on-pitch disruptions, boycotts, and planes flown overhead to keep up the pressure on the club.

After relegation from the EFL for the first time in the club's history was all-but confirmed in April as defeat to Salford loomed, hundreds stormed the pitch at Boundary Park with banners reading 'GET OUT OF OUR CLUB', with relegation later rubber stamped as the game was completed behind closed doors.

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Fans are now stepping up efforts to raise money to secure the long-term future of the club, with the club's Supporters Foundation launching a fundraising drive to try and raise £6m to potentially buy Boundary Park. Now, Burnham has given those efforts a boost by launching a new taskforce to give fans an active role in the future ownership of the club.

The idea of the taskforce is to bring together fan groups to help with a community share offer, where fans would be able to buy a stake in Oldham - or any other club.

The group, involving Co-operatives UK which is supported by Co-operative Bank, and the Football Supporters' Association (FSA) are calling for a number of reforms that would give fans more of a say in how their clubs are run, including giving them a right to invest meaning they are afforded the