Kettering Town owner Akhtar outlines his decision to sell club
"I would not have agreed to pass ownership of the club on unless I believed the incoming owners had the ambition, resources, and commitment to build upon what has already been achieved."
Kettering Town owner George Akhtar has explained his reasoning behind agreeing to sell the club to former Poppies players Brad Piercewright and Craig Norman
The club announced on Tuesday evening that an agreement in principle has been reached for Piercewright and Norman to take over from Akhtar and become the new owners.
That brought to an end months of calls, meetings and activity behind the scenes, and sometimes in the public domain, following Piercewright's decision to hold a supporters' forum in May, outlining his ambition to buy the club.
He declared his intention to invest significant funds, not only to the team on the pitch, but more significantly off the pitch, stating his desire to see the club move back into Kettering, and to actually build and own its own stadium.
Initially, Akhtar resisted all overtures and has reportedly turned down numerous offers in the past few months, but he has finally decided to agree to sell.
Providing everything goes smoothly with regards the legal process, Akhtar will hand over the keys to Latimer Park, bringing to an end two-and-a-half action-packed years in charge.
The highlight was arguably that superb 2-1 FA Cup first round win over Northampton Town at Sixfields, but there were also a charge to a play-off final and a semi-final.
Plenty has happened off the pitch as well, and in the statement that announced the sale, Akhtar said: "As I reflect on the past two and a half years leading Kettering Town Football Club, I am immensely proud of the progress we have made both on and off the pitch.
"We have delivered successive play-off campaigns and a memorable FA Cup run, secured an extension to the club’s lease, doubled sponsorship revenues, increased attendances and significantly grown engagement across our social media platforms.
"Off the pitch, we have worked to make the club a destination for the wider community, including the development of the Fan Zone and major events such as our World Cup big-screen programme.
"We also proudly marked the 50th anniversary of Kettering Town becoming the first football club to wear commercial sponsorship on its shirts.
"These achievements have been part of a much wider plan: to stabilise the club, grow its revenues, reconnect it with supporters and the community, and create the foundations from which Kettering Town can fulfil its potential."
Akhtar then made it clear why he has decided to hand on the Poppies baton to Piercewright and Norman.
"The next stage requires investment on a completely different scale," admitted Akhtar.
"Brad and Craig have outlined an ambitious vision backed by a commitment to invest millions of pounds into Kettering Town Football Club.
"Their proposals include the ambition to deliver a new stadium in Kettering and ultimately see the club secure league football.
"That commitment to substantial future investment was fundamental to my decision to reach an agreement in principle.
"I would not have agreed to pass ownership of the club on unless I believed the incoming owners had the ambition, resources, and commitment to build upon what has already been achieved and take Kettering Town significantly further.
"The opportunity now is not simply to maintain the progress of the last two and a half years, but to accelerate it.
"If Brad and Craig deliver the investment and vision they have outlined, it would represent one of the most significant commitments to Kettering Town Football Club in its history and give the club the opportunity to achieve things that simply have not previously been possible."