FOOTBALL fans are being urged to help save a club that has been at the heart of Bicester’s community for more than 130 years.

Bicester Town Football Club is under threat of closure over a £9,000 debt.

The club is expecting to hear in the coming days if an offer of paying back £150 a month has been accepted by Bicester Sports Association, which owns the land in Oxford Road where the club play.

In the meantime, the club has launched a fundraising appeal to help repay the debt.

It is asking 50 people to pledge £10 a month for the next six months.

That alone could bring in £3,000 — a third of the debt. So far, 18 people have signed up.

Club secretary Nick Haverson urged Bicester to pay up if they wanted to save the club.

He added: “It struck me as an easy way for people to give in a way they would not notice, and would buy us some breathing space.

“It’s for Bicester people, those who have contacts with the club and those who love sport. If they don’t, the club will close. I would rather have 9,000 people give £1 for a community club than one person give £9,000.”

Mr Haverson said other local teams had also pledged their support.

He said: “It has been quite humbling the amount of support we have received from other clubs.

“But I think it’s quite embarrassing when people like Witney offered to pass a bucket around at a match. I want the people of Bicester to support us.”

When the new committee took over in 2006 they were saddled with about £34,000 in debts, including money owed to an electricity company, the BSA and a brewery.

So far, the management committee has paid off about £10,000 of that total.

Last week the Oxford Mail revealed the BSA had issued a legal notice asking the club to pay its debt within 60 days.

Mr Haverson said he was expecting to hear soon if the club’s offer and pledge of extra cash through the appeal had been accepted.

He said: “The 60 days is technically gone, but I’m not expecting to find a padlock on the gate.

“The ball is in their court — we are trying to raise money.”

At the time of going to press, no-one from the BSA was available for comment.

However, last week chairman Adam Wade said: “Failure by any user club to pay for their usage puts additional strain on our ability to provide sport for other user clubs.”