Basingstoke Town lists itself on Ebay, triggers security alert

Non-league club Basingstoke Town sparked somewhat of a firestorm earlier this week when the club listed itself on popular bidding website Ebay, with bids starting at 99p.

"The world needs to know the club is for sale," former director Simon Hood, who was behind the listing, told BBC Sport.

The Southern Premier League (Tier 6) side is looking for a new primary investor following news that chairman Rafi Razzak is stepping down at season's end after 25 years.

Ebay actually suspended the bidding process after five hours when a flurry of high bids saw the price raise to the vicinity of £66,000, triggering pre-determined security settings.

"If we don't find a buyer, nobody knows what's going to happen to the club," Hood said. "It could just disappear.

"It's a club with a very long tradition, and what better way to keep that going than to let the world know it's for sale?"

Basingstoke faces a real financial crisis, as it is £2 million in debt and had a proposal to build a new ground and training venue refused by the local council back in January. Their current ground, meanwhile, is in dire need of an upgrade.

It appears the listing was just an elaborate way to gain worldwide attention, but it is not the first time a British club has tried this move. In 2009, Tranmere Rovers was placed on the bidding site with a starting price of $10 million, but the listing was removed on the same day.