DESPERATE measures were undertaken by the chairman of an Oxfordshire football club who took to social media to flog it to potential buyers.

After years of financial instability and struggles to remain opened Abingdon Town Football Club officials are looking for somebody with almost £1,000,000 of spare cash to invest into the club's future.

Chairman and joint club boss Brian Kirk advertised the club on the Facebook page 'Items for sale in Didcot, Abingdon , Wantage and Wallingford' alongside trivial items such as furniture, bicycles and shed tools.

The unorthodox platform of advertisement, however, has brought at least four 'serious' enquiries about the almost 15-years-old club in the last 24 hours.

While the Facebook advertisement marketed the club and its land for £500,000, he confirmed this is not a final offer and the current owner is willing to negotiate on the price.

ALSO READ: OX5 Run CANCELLED due to coronavirus

Oxford Mail:

But according to Mr Kirk Abingdon Town has been for sale for the last 12 years without any success because it is situated on a floodplain, which means the land can only be used for sports.

The chairman however argued this is a 'golden' opportunity for an investor actually passionate about the sport as the current owner Martin Stevens 'has no interest in football whatsoever'.

Mr Kirk added: "The club has such great potential and if I had the money I would buy it myself but I do not.

"We need somebody with an interest in football who would want to see the club developing."

Mr Kirk, who has been involved with Abingdon Town for more than 20 years – first as a player in the men's team and in the last three years as a chairman and a secretary – explained he has big plans for its future that involve the instalment of a state of the art artificial grass pitch.

He said: "There is the potential of huge revenue from a 3D pitch and there are grants available out there that subsidise up to 90 per cent of the cost.

ALSO READ: Football club chairman used ground for illegal waste operation

Oxford Mail:

"Oxford City have one and are able to charge more than a hundred pounds an hour for its use.

"I tried to get Mr Stevens to install an artificial pitch first and then advertise that he wants to sell the club but he is not interested in developing it."

The chairman admitted that even with a grant from the Football Association a new owner would still have to pay about £500,000 for the 3D pitch, which would take their initial investment to £1,000,000.

While Mr Kirk has ambitious plans for Abingdon Town, the football club was on the brink of collapse only two years ago when a fundraising drive failed to generate £20,000 needed for a refurb.

Financial issues at the club reached a critical point following the resignation of previous chairman Jayson Lyon.

In April last year the club's name again circulated front pages of newspapers when Mr Lyon pleaded guilty to illegal activities carried out at the Culham Road site in 2017.

He was handed a suspended jail term after admitting using the club ground as a waste site.

Anyone who is interested in Abingdon Town Football Club can get in touch via sec@abingdontownfc.com