There’s definitely apprehension – Crawley fans wary over cryptocurrency takeover

Crawley fans are wary of their club becoming “an experiment which goes wrong” following a takeover by cryptocurrency investors last week.

WAGMI United announced last Thursday it had bought a controlling stake in the League Two club, after a bid to buy Bradford was rejected last year.

The owners are understood to have met all English Football League requirements but there is apprehension among supporters of Crawley and more widely in football regarding the takeover, with cryptocurrency an unregulated market in the UK.

WAGMI founders Preston Johnson and Eben Smith have promised Crawley fans promotion to League One within two seasons or to stand for re-election as club directors if they fail.

In confirming the takeover, WAGMI said they wanted to “reimagine how professional sports teams are owned and operated”.

Those comments have excited and worried Crawley fans in equal measure.

“That’s great that they want to experiment, and hopefully we go on a wonderful journey and we do get promotions and lots of cup runs and we’re successful,” Sam Jordan, the chair of the club’s Supporters Alliance, told the PA news agency.

“But it’s my football club and I don’t want my football club to be an experiment which goes wrong.

“I’ve been through ownerships which have been fantastic and I’ve been through ownerships which have taken us to the brink of existence. So there’s definitely apprehension.

“What I would say initially they’ve been quite open and transparent. We know who they are, we’ve seen their faces, they’re active on social media, they want to talk to fans, all those things are positive.

“The biggest fear for me, and I’m not massively into cryptocurrency or NFTs, is where is the money going to come from if we don’t succeed with the