Fan-led campaign Sell Before We Dai, who are calling on Reading FC’s absent owner Dai Yongge to sell the club, will take their campaign to Wembley Stadium tomorrow evening ahead of England’s friendly match against Belgium.
The campaign has hired an advertising van to circle the roads around the stadium ahead of kick-off to put the spotlight on the situation at Reading, where the mismanagement of the club caused by owners Dai Yongge and Dai Xiu Li and CEO Dayong Pang has seen the Royals docked 18 points in the last three years. It follows a similar campaign stunt in December.
This action also aims to highlight to England fans travelling from across the country that the situation at Reading FC could happen at their club. Football has an ownership problem – and it could ruin any club at any level of the English football pyramid.
England’s match against Belgium has been chosen by the campaign because Ms Dai played a huge part in KSV Roeselare’s demise. The Belgian club no longer exists, nor does Beijing Chengfeng, the Chinese side Mr Dai was the owner of until it was dissolved.
Caroline Parker, spokesperson for Sell Before We Dai, said: “The match against Belgium will see players in the current England squad who wouldn’t be where they are today without clubs lower down the football pyramid, including Jude Bellingham and Ollie Watkins, who were made by Birmingham City and Exeter. The success of these players shows why English clubs at all levels must be protected from negligent ownership, poor governance, financial mismanagement and worse.
“We want to remind fans that while it’s Reading that are in trouble today, it could be someone else tomorrow. We need the new Independent Regulator for English Football to have the necessary powers to safeguard clubs and solve systemic issues. The world is watching – collective responsibility is needed to ensure we have a regulator with real teeth.
“The future of English football depends on it.”
