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Coventry buyer hints at huge investment plans

Andy Tilley
Wednesday 28 April 2004 00:00 BST
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Coventry City's prospective new owner is prepared to match or even outdo the £200m invested in Chelsea by Roman Abramovich.

Jojar Dhinsa last night confirmed plans for a takeover of his hometown club, who lie 12th in the First Division with no hope of making this season's play-offs.

The 29-year-old Dhinsa is the chairman and chief executive of the Reading-based Athlone Group whose fortune is reported to stand at £40m, and is being backed in part by a consortium of Russian oil tycoons. He intends to open talks with the City chairman, Mike McGinnity, at the end of the season with a view to completing his buy-out within the next year.

"Roman Abramovich put £150m to £200m into Chelsea, and there's no reason why we can't match that or even beat it," Dhinsa said. "I see no reason why we can't be challenging at the top of the Premiership or in European competitions within the next two or three years."

The takeover would hinge on completion of the new 32,500-seater stadium, the centre-piece of the £113m Coventry Arena development being built in the Foleshill area of the city where Dhinsa grew up.

"I had contemplated involvement at Leeds and also Leicester," he added. "But Coventry is my home town, and I'm passionate about the club as well as the city as a whole.

"Football clubs have to be run sensibly like any other business, but it's the passion of the fans which ultimately counts."

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