A recap of todays events

So what do we know about our club now then? Instead of having to scroll through pages of threads on this board and other forums, here is the info we need to know. Please correct anything I may have wrong


Club owners: The Al-qadi' family from Jordan.

Owners stake: 92%. (Remaining 8% is owned by the supporters club).

Club President: Wael Al-Qadi.

Chairman: Steve Hamer who will be running things day to day. Use to be Swansea's chairman.

Life Vice Presidents: All of the directors who have stood down today, Higgs, Ware, Bradshaw, Jelf & Sexstone have been made Life Vice Presidents. They will be used for advice and their knowledge.

Fans directors: Brian Seymour-Smith and Ken Masters remain in same position.

Owners wealth: A lot Rovers are now apparently the 10th richest club in the country.

Info on the Al-Qadi family: The family is headed by Abdulkader Abdullah Al-Qadi, 82, Has 3 sons, all who will be involved in some capacity. He who founded the Arab Jordan Investment Bank in 1978 and continues to be a significant shareholder after growing in to a major financial powerhouse in the region. The family are considered as one of the most influential in Jordan due to their banking and tourism interests.

Info on Wael: He is a lifelong fan of English Football and a member of the executive board of the Jordan Football Association as well as having a position in the Asian Football Development Project being heavily involved In little leagues and kids' football academies in Jordan, which was founded by FIFA presidential candidate HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein.
Wael was educated here in England which is where his love for English football started. He went on to complete his education in America at Boston University and then Harvard Business School.

Info on Steve Hamer:
He was chairman of Swansea for 3 years that ended in 2000. He claims he was pushed out of Swansea http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/swansea_city/937174.stm


Wael said at the press conference and in following interviews:
"Our family looked at other clubs in Leagues One and Two to buy. We have been in talks with Rovers since September 2015. The fan-base here is what swayed it. We are here to improve the club in any way. We want this club to be a success in every aspect. We really see the potential of this great club, we want to improve in all areas, not just on the field. We will improve the youth academy which is something I am very passionate about as I am involved in this back home in Jordan. Also I want to improve the club's commercial side too. The potential here is enormous. I'm a football fan. This is not about buying something and selling it off. I won't say this is an investment, it's an ownership. Ownership means you are passionate for the club to do well - on and off the field. I am a football passionate man & this is my first club & will be my last club. Bristol is a wonderful city, a university town. There is huge potential here to grow. I will be based in Jordan but i'll try to get to every home game. I'll be here as much as I can, every 2 weeks. I grew up supporting Chelsea in the 80's but I am now committed to Rovers. My allegiance is now with Rovers. I understand what Gasheads want. They are wonderful fans and deserve success at this club and hopefully I will achieve that. They are passionate like myself and I consider myself a Gashead now. Bristol Rovers has always been known as a family club and it is my family’s wish to maintain that tradition. When we purchased the club we knew about the stadium issue but we know that a new stadium is a requirement. The legal case has to be sorted and finished before thinking of new stadium. Once everything is in order and ready and as soon as we are satisfied and everything is in place, we will be ready to go as this club needs a new stadium. Darrell has done a fantastic job we support the him 10,000%. I have been very impressed with his management style and how he can change style and formations and being able to adapt to each game home and away. He is pretty impressive. He has done a fantastic job and I will support Darrell in every way I can and hope he can bring us even more success. There is no 5 or 10 year plan. Its wrong to have this in my opinion. We will work day by day, game by game, season by season and division by division. Our ambition is to advance as far as we can and we do that by teamwork. We all will be in this together."

Hamer during the press conference:
I am delighted to be here. The Al-Qadi family wanted to buy a club. I work in a group of consultants with people who buy and sale clubs. When the possibility came up for this club, we never looked back as its got so much potential. I have an understanding here as grew up in Somerset. Its undernourished in this area in terms of sport. Gloucester Cricket not doing as well as they should be. Bristol Rugby had to leave here and be rescued. Bristol City has bucked the trend though. The Al-Qadi family are very loyal people and they got Rovers with eyes wide open after lots of research. The club and fmaily are a perfect fit. I am here to be the chairman of this football club. I will be here day to day representing the club in every way. I was behind the goal at Portsmouth and I think I'm word perfect on Goodnight Irene. I believe the club can emulate Swansea and Bournemouth. Both clubs have worked up their way up to the Premier League. It's exciting times for Rovers. Automatic promotion is maybe a little out of reach, but in this league you never know. I now know what this club means to the supporters. We're not freshmen. We're not rookies. We've been in this game a long time and know what to expect. We won't talk of five-year plans or the Premier League. This is going to be evolution, not revolution. This club has to be built properly. Our eyes are wide open. I would not be sitting here with Wael if I didn't believe it was for the long-term."

When asked if he will be moving to the area or commuting, Hamer said:
"Steve Cotterill rang me the other day. He bought a house for £500,000 and doesn't need it anymore. Maybe we can rent it."



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Steve Hamer on the left and Wael Al Qadi on the right.

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1 interview with Wael...

https://www.periscope.tv/w/1kvJpzqMwooKE

 

Another interview

 

Hamer interview

 

Wael just said on Twentyman show that ALL club debts have now been cleared.

 

Hamer just said on Twentyman that the clubs colours will NEVER change.

And the entire Al-Qadi family with Hamer will be at the game tomorrow.

Steve Brookfield will be the new financial director replacing Watola.

Tony Watola has been asked to be the new CEO.

 

Great stuff!

UTG!

 

Hamer also said that Wael will look at the UWE stadium plans in great detail to make sure he is happy with it all. He is the new owner of the club taking over the whole UWE stadium situation so he will be catching up with everything within the stadium plans and will be discuss it with UWE as well. Plans may change depending on what Wael wants. Everything may even be perfect as it is. But Wael will definately looking at the lease of the land. He may feel it will be worth buying everything. Time will tell. But when he has got it right in his head, then things will start.

 

Steve Brookfield was recently the Coventry Financial Director by the way.

 

Wow, great stuff.

We could be in the top flight in five or six years... or in our lifetime!

Hats off to Higgs and co. Sounds like they've done us proud!

 

I am totally stunned.

Some **** pinch me ffs or punch me, right now Iwouldn't feel a thing..

 

Im sure if you offer that on the red voard, there will be a queue waiting for you

 

I don't want to be seen have conversations with those bums, it'll give us billionaires a bad rep.

 

....and Toni Watola is a big Coventry fan. Too cosy. I would have preferred a new pair of eyes as CEO.

 

So are you saying we should be careful because......

Hamer was in charge of Swansea when they went into financial problems before they started rising the leagues.....

Brookfield has been the financial director for Coventry who has had lots of financial issues recently.....

Watola who was the financial director for us who doesnt seem able to count and will be our next CEO.....

What exactly is there to be worried about????

 

It's great news for Bristol and you guys in particular.
In time we will have competition and will be good for both clubs.

Honestly think it's win win for Bristol football.

 

Absolutely brilliant news for the Blues!!

Captain Jack, I started to read your excellent write up and first line "The family is headed by Abdulkader Abdullah Al-Qadi", I mistakenly read as "The family is Beheaded by Abdulkader Abdullah Al-Qadi"

Not my fault, it's the smoke

 

I keep pronouncing the family name al-qaeda I can spell the name fine. But im struggling to pronounce it