Greg Dyke Backs the Bees

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Former BBC Director General gets behind his local club

Former BBC director general Greg Dyke has got behind the Back the Bees campaign to raise £1m by the end of September to enable the takeover of Brentford FC by its fans.

Dyke, a supporter of the Club since childhood when his brother Ian played in the youth scheme at Brentford, has joined the supporters' trust Bees United, which is seeking to acquire the majority shareholding in the Club, and has taken out a loan note towards the £1m total.

He is also a former director of Manchester United who was deeply concerned about the takeover of the club by the Glazers. He has commented that in supporting both United and Brentford for many years he has never seen a conflict, as during that time they have never had to play against each other. Living locally he can get to matches at Griffin Park in 15 minutes. Three of his children are also big Brentford fans as are many of their friends.

On his decision to Back the Bees, Dyke said“I have been a Brentford supporter for more than 40 years and know how much the club means to a lot of people living in the area. It is very clear to me that the Club’s long term future is best served by the majority shareholding being held by the people who care most about the club – its fans.”

On Dyke's support, Bees United chairman Brian Burgess added: 'I am delighted that Greg has decided to get behind our campaign. We are launching a major drive to encourage those Brentford fans who can afford it to take out loan notes to help towards the £1m target, and Greg's loan is a great example of the merit in backing fan ownership of our Club'.

 

August 4, 2005