Bury FC set for return to Gigg Lane and football pyramid after merger agreed

Bury FC are set to play at Gigg Lane again after two separate supporter-led groups, set up after the club’s Football League expulsion in 2019, agreed to merge.

Bury AFC, the team who have represented the town in non-league since then, play matches at Stainton Park, home of Radcliffe FC. The original Bury FC continued to exist as a fan-led business entity and completed a purchase from the administrator last year – but until now, they have not had a team to play at the ground.

A first attempt to merge last October fell just short of the two-thirds majority required. But a second vote saw both groups approve the motion by more than 90%, which also means the merged club will now qualify for necessary local council and government funding.

A total of £1.3m in funding is reportedly available to the club – £450,000 from Bury Council and the rest from the government’s “levelling up” fund. In Friday’s vote, supporters also voted 97% in favour of making Gigg Lane the club’s home venue, with 92% in favour of returning to the name Bury Football Club.

A statement from Bury Football Club Supporters Society (BFCSS) read: “What we are building today is for those who will look back [and] be proud of the work we as volunteers have put into establishing this club as a shining example of a sustainable fan-owned football club.”

Bury AFC, who were set up by a separate fan group, The Shakers Community, tweeted: “We are delighted to announce that the vote to amalgamate The Shakers Community and Bury FC Supporters Society has passed by an overwhelmingly positive margin.”

In a separate statement, Bury AFC’s media director, Adam Ingram, wrote: “This vote preserves the old and the new, history, present and future, nothing and nobody is lost or left