A new era at Blyth Spartans - Irfan Liaquat announces takeover of the Club

New Club chairman Irfan Liaquat, of Winners Worldwide, has pledged to unlock huge potential and deliver league football to Blyth Spartans and the Northumberland town for the first time.

Irfan, a Tyneside-based businessman, angel investor and philanthropist, outlines a five-year plan that includes:

Striving for success - the CLub will be resilient and keep moving forward

Championing the local community through a programme of education and engagement

Connecting new fans and old by creating a safe, welcoming and inclusive space at Croft Park

Investment in key areas on and off the field - developing a winning mentality and building on the values and ethos of Blyth Spartans

Maintaining tradition and respecting heritage as the Club prepares to celebrate its 125th anniversary

Irfan commented this afternoon: "Blyth Spartans is the most famous non-league Club in the world. We are surrounded by a fantastic community. We want to get out of this tier as a matter of urgency.

"We will spend money but we won't spend it like it's going out of fashion. We know what we need to do and we will get to work instantly. There are exciting times ahead and you will see exactly what we need to do.

"I've been here as a fan and it took me five minutes to decide this is what I want. I'm looking forward to engaging with supporters."

Irfan has appointed former Premier League striker Steve Howard as the Club's new sporting director. Steve, a former Derby County, Leicester City and Luton Town player has already started working alongside Jon Shaw to shape the Spartans' squad of the future.

New board members include business development specialist Benice Taylor, Blyth-born education specialist Richard Kirkby, sales and risk management expert Craig Ridley and Colin Blackett - recently appointed as managing director (operations) by the outgoing owners.

A Q&A event for supporters will take place in the social club this evening at Croft Park and the new owners have made available thousands of free tickets ahead of Saturday's National League North clash against Boston United.

Photo credit: Mark Carruthers