German investors withdraw backing from Dunfermline amid supporter frustration

Dunfermline’s German investors have put their stake in the club up for sale amid frustration over the impatience of supporters.

Hamburg-based DAFC Fussball GmbH bought a 30 per cent shareholding in the fan-owned club in 2020 with the option of moving to a majority stake.

The William Hill Championship club have been largely owned by the Pars United fan group since 2013 having gone into administration earlier that year.

In a lengthy statement, the German group stated that many considered it “foolish” for investing but stressed its achievements in investing in training facilities and the youth academy.

But its ambitions started to unravel when the Pars were relegated to League 1 in 2022.

“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,” the statement said.

“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.”

Dunfermline bounced back at the first attempt under manager James McPake and survived in the Championship despite an injury-hit campaign.

“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,” the statement added.

“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.”

The investors stated that the aim this season was to blood more homegrown players in the first team alongside summer signings, who were Chris Kane, David Wotherspoon and Kieran Ngwenya.

However, two opening defeats in the Championship have led to calls for McPake to be sacked and the German group feels its attempts to build the club up sustainably cannot be realised in such an environment.

“We are not so naive as not to realise that football is emotional,” it added. “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.”

It stated that talks had previously taken place with interested parties and it has “every reason to believe that there will be no shortage of interest in the club”.

It added that funds would be made available to strengthen the squad in the meantime and insisted there were no “sour grapes” in its decision to sell up.

“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,” it added.