Coventry Groundshare with Northampton is a ‘dagger blow’ to Sky Blues Fans

Confirmation that Coventry City Football Club will play their ‘home’ games at Northampton Town’s Sixfields Stadium has been met with dismay from fans.

The Football League ‘reluctantly’ approved the move earlier in the week and Coventry fans have said the situation is a ‘dagger blow’ to supporters.

Large numbers of Sky Blues fans have vowed to stay away from Sixfields, which is approximately 35 miles from the Ricoh Arena, where Coventry have played their home games since 2005.

A statement from a leading supporters’ group read: “The Sky Blue Trust is disappointed, dismayed and angry about the announced move for Coventry City to be uprooted and to play its ‘home’ matches 35 miles away in Northampton for up to five years.

“The dispute between Sisu, the ultimate owners of CCFC, and the Ricoh Arena operators, ACL, has gone on for an interminable time but this latest unnecessary move is a dagger blow through the hearts of thousands of Coventry City supporters.

“While Sisu insist this move is vital for the club to survive, the Sky Blue Trust maintains that exactly the opposite is true – this move could well destroy our club.”

Previously, ACL had offered Coventry the chance to play at the Ricoh, rent-free for the forthcoming season and earlier this week insisted they wanted the club to remain in the city and wanted to discuss terms.

However, Tim Fisher, chief executive of Coventry Holdings, insisted this was not true and that ACL had closed the door on the club at the start of the year.