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Hibs’ supporters have announced the next stage of their campaign to secure the long-term future of the club for the fans.

The Forever Hibernian campaign will set out to buy the club and the stadium from the current owner with a majority shareholding held by the fans, in perpetuity. Last week the first proposal put to HFC Holding Ltd, the club’s parent company, was rejected due to tax and investment complications.

However Paul Kane, spokesperson for the fans group, said: “It is a step forward and we are over the first hurdle.

“We met with Sir Tom Farmer a couple of weeks ago and put in a proposal. That has been rejected at this stage, but the door has not been closed.

“We are now drawing up a proposal for a Newco Hibernian Fans Co-Operative to own the club and the stadium.

“The key point is the fans will own a 51 per cent majority shareholding through a membership scheme and we will attract finance for the other 49 per cent.

“We have already talked to potential investors in the business community who are Hibs supporters as well as other potential investors.

“We know we are going in the right direction and can reach an agreement with the club owner with both parties acting in good faith.

“The current owner acknowledges the club is entering a new era and we are confident we can establish common ground.

“Sir Tom Farmer has always said he saved Hibs for the community. Now is the time to establish his legacy for Hibs with the fans at the very heart of the club.

“It is also crucial both sides act in an open and transparent manner. We are busy making sure we get the right model and no doubt there will be adjustments regards the membership scheme, details of the co-operative and trust etc.

“We are working with the Hibs Supporters Association and all the people involved, putting in a lot of effort in the background, are Hibs people with one common goal – Forever Hibernian.

“We will present more details to the fans as soon as we can in the near future about the membership scheme. Overall we are in for the long haul.

“Meanwhile football clubs know they are in a new era of openness and transparency where they have to involve and respect the fans – especially with social media where their views cannot be ignored.

“The Hibs support has had serious concerns about how the club has been run by the current board and chairman. They want radical change as was seen at the rally at Easter Road on June 7. Since then we have come up with our first proposal. There were some problems which we feel we can rectify. Now it is stage two with the new proposal.

“There is now a hard-headed realism in Scottish football. There are few if any sugar daddies out there who are going to come in and buy the club for millions. But we are confident we can now build a new future for Hibs with the fans forever at the heart of it.”

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John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.