Pars German investors to sell: DAFC Fussball GmbH statement

DAFC Fussball GmbH, who first became involved with the club in 2020, have said that they are looking to sell their shares following "recent events" which they say have "greatly contributed" to their decision.

Here is their statement in full.

"It is with sadness and regret that we announce today that, after four years of involvement, we shall be putting our stake in Dunfermline Athletic Football Club up for sale.

"Recent events at the club have greatly contributed to this decision being made now.

READ MORE: Shock move as major investment group pulls out of Pars

"A look back over the past few years may be appropriate: "We made our first investment into the club in August 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, and at a time when there was massive uncertainty in the world, let alone in the world of football with games behind closed doors becoming the norm.

"We did this to show the trust and commitment we felt towards the club and which had developed from everyone we had dealt with at the club. Many considered us foolish at the time for doing so. By the same token it was a great coup for the club to have secured investment in such an uncertain environment.

"One of the topics back then and which had been discussed for years already and had never come to fruition due to the lack of resources was the idea of having a dedicated club training facility. Somewhere where the Pars Foundation, at a later day a DAFC Academy and first team professionals could train, rub shoulders and be together. Creating a home, a place where a unique DAFC identity could be felt and which would in addition help attract talented players to the club in the future.

"This is a longer term success factor and it takes time, but you need to build these foundations to gradually improve, step by step, your chances of success as a club. We have succeeded in this ambition with the facilities at Rosyth which we funded - in addition freeing up generous grants from the SFA and Fife Council.

"We were encouraged by many around the club to make the investment into a dedicated DAFC Academy. Again, something that costs money and which is an investment into the future of the club. At the DAFC Academy local talented boys can find the way to develop their abilities and at the same time do so at their home club they love and are so passionate about.

"The Academy is now up and running and players in the first team squad have come up through the ranks of the academy. Everyone in the DAFC community was delighted to see these local and loyal players making it to the top. Songs were sung and chants adapted to appreciate their achievements.

"We all remember well the 2021-22 season where after a long series of poor results we had to endure relegation to League One. Already at that time we saw how even if you put time, effort and money into this club it is only current results which matter which makes it nearly impossible to execute a long-term, sustainable strategy.

"Unfortunately, the ensuing turmoil at the club also led to resignations by hard working and passionate people who had put in more hours of work into the club than anyone could imagine and above any normal call of duty.

"The club relies on important volunteers for much of what goes on in and around the club. In this day and age of modern football the day-to-day oversight, however, has to be handled by dedicated full time management, even if this costs money.

"We realised this and made the further investment necessary into attracting top class professionals into important leadership roles making the transition from a volunteer led organisation to one professionally run. Again, structural work and longer term planning for the future requires all of these building blocks to be put into place one by one in a continuous effort to get the club back to a position where we all feel it belongs.

"After the shock of the relegation which the club had to endure, and the depth of despair everyone around the club felt at the time, the club famously, under the stewardship of a new young management team, bounced back to the Championship in only one season, with our goalkeeper breaking historic records for the number of clean sheets in one season.

"The following season was an achievement in itself in that we consolidated our position in the Championship despite probably the most injuries sustained at the club in one season in living memory. The financial impact of relegation one year and injuries at a massive level the next was obviously felt in the running costs at the club, but when you have a longer term plan these things happen and need to be weathered, which we did.

"Nevertheless, we have felt for a while now, probably since the middle of last season, that long term planning and putting in place the building blocks for future success is not what many are looking for.

"Many seem to prefer an investor who has deep pockets to throw at the first team and try for the best over and over again each season.

"We said from the start that we are not this kind of investor and therefore have detected an increasing disappointment in our approach. Perhaps, therefore, we are not the right kind of investor in the eyes of many at the club.

"This season was the year in which we wanted to consolidate the experience in the squad, add young, motivated players from our own youth development and make a few additional key signings.

"The aim has always been to get to 44 points as soon as possible. After achieving this, further aims may be considered. This does not represent a lack of ambition, as many seem to believe, but the wish to build the squad in a sustainable fashion and to add strength as and when required.

"Success comes from being able to plan and build over time, even if there are hiccups along the way. Rushing things, or simply spending more money is not a sustainable model and we have not stood for this from the start.

"If much more is expected this itself puts additional pressure on the management and the squad with each game not won. The knee-jerk reaction to call for more spending is not a model we stand for. "If a management team which was the envy of the league, and which got us out of League One in the shortest possible time, is now not considered adequate after an average season marred by injuries and a series of poor results, and only two games into the current season, something is wrong. Do we really believe that sacking the current manager and signing new players as is now being called for is the right solution to a poor run of results?

"These impatient voices could already be heard last season in which, as we said, the management team got us through a competitive league with the well-known massive injury problems.

"We believe the relegation season has taught us that sacking a manager and adding expensive players is not always the best solution. Stability and trust and gradual strengthening are the key success factors. The level of current frustration is creating an environment in which longer term planning is not possible and is also not in keeping with our ethos of “Living True Sportsmanship”.

"We are not so naive as not to realise that football is emotional. That is why we love it so much. But the speed with which last year’s heroes become this year’s discards, last year’s cleverness becomes this year’s inability, is difficult for us to understand and, for us, makes our strategy of longer-term planning and building nearly impossible.

"Over the coming weeks we and the other directors of the club shall be having discussions on the sale of our stake with some of the many parties who have approached us already over the past years and, of course, in coordination with PUCIC (Pars United Community Interest Company) who are, as of now, still the majority owners of your club. We have every reason to believe that there will be no shortage of interest in the club.

"In the meantime, of course all of us on the board have recognised that the current squad needs to be strengthened in several areas for reasons of both quality and depth. We are more than aware of this.

"At a board meeting held on Monday 12 August, resources have been made available to the management team to make sensible additions both by way of signings and by way of the now gradually active loan market. We will continue to work hard with the rest of the board and the management team to make sure we do well this season.

"To finish, let us reiterate again that we have made many new friends here in Dunfermline, many have welcomed us and appreciated the effort we have made, and we sincerely hope to continue these friendships into the future.

"There are absolutely no “sour grapes” or similar in our decision to sell our stake in the club. Perhaps it is just the realisation that the realities of Scottish football are as they are and that we may not be the right investment group for your club."