
A Canadian songwriter and entrepreneur became owner of Dumbarton FC after the club repeatedly contacted him during his search for a football club. He connected his 1992 song lyrics about sitting on the rock to Dumbarton’s stadium, The Rock, and linked his river and ship songwriting to the club’s location by the River Clyde. He saw the timing as meaningful because the club was close to liquidation and faced long-term struggles. He emphasized generational links and Scottish core values, and he outlined plans to move the club forward through its women’s team. He wants the women’s team to receive an equal share of the value they bring, with all next season games played at The Rock.
"“When I was looking for a football club, this club kept calling me back not literally. For example, I wrote a song in 1992 which had a lyric about sitting on the rock, and Dumbarton's stadium is called The Rock. It's also on the river and I wrote a lot of lyrics about rivers and ships, so it felt meant to be.”"
"“Where it seemed to click for me was the club was about to go into liquidation, he says. Five years from now you'd have trees in the grounds and someone building houses on the land. The club had been going for 153 years and has tasted bad times because of bad people.”"
"“The link between generations and the core values are important and in Scotland there's a real passion for what the core values of Scotland are. He also has a plan to take the club forward, including its women's team, which sits in the third-tier Scottish Women's Football League Central-West, one of four regional divisions where the players are unpaid.”"
"“Lapointe, though, wants to ensure the women's team get access to an equal split of what they bring into the club, with all games next season to be played at The Rock which neighbours Dumbarton Castle and the River Clyde for the first time I looked at different sports and clubs but we know what happens, as soon as something goes wrong it's the women's budget that gets cut.”"
#football-club-ownership #scottish-lower-leagues #womens-football #community-and-core-values #sports-finance
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