Roger takes over Servette
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Article summary
Servette FC have avoided bankruptcy after being bought by Marc Roger, the former football agent.
Article body
Debts must be cut
Roger, 40, revealed his plans yesterday after guaranteeing €760,000 to cover salaries in January and February. He will have to find further funds almost immediately, as by 15 March Servette's debts of €2.8m must be cut to €500,000 if they are to acquire a Swiss Super League licence for next season. His overall investment until the end of the season should amount to around €5.1m.
Makelele involved
Roger's partners include "three players of international level, one coach and four people from Geneva." Chelsea FC's French international Claude Makelele is one of them, holding a ten per cent stake together with another player.
Attracting support
Roger is hoping that by 2005/06 Servette will have balanced their books entirely. To achieve this, he wants attendances at the Stade de Genève to rise to 15,000 and hopes that by signing players from "Portugal, Italy and Spain" he will attract ex-pats from those countries resident in Geneva. Within two years, he plans to establish a youth academy, based on French club AJ Auxerre's successful model.
