Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
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Comic-book legend swoops in to help out Wee Rovers with £18,000 funding package
Comic- book writer Mark Millar has stepped in to save the day for Albion Rovers with an £18,000 cash injection.
Rovers supporter Millar – who is the creator of Kick-Ass, Wanted and Kingsman which have all been turned into Hollywood blockbusters – had fears for the club’s future in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But on Monday he revealed a fivefigure pay day for his local side at Cliftonhill, which has allowed Rovers to put a streaming service in place.
Thanks to the efforts of Millar, along with the SFA and streaming service Pixellot, diehard supporters will be able to watch games with commentary online.
Millar, who has also worked on Superman and Marvel comics, now hopes viewers watching from home will help the club cope with limited fan numbers due to Covid-19.
He told the Advertiser: “My dad was a big Rovers fan so I really grew up with this romantic idea of Rovers and the community side of it.
“You come to a game and you bump into 200 people you know – it takes half an hour to get out of the stadium. I’ve always loved it. When it came to Covid and the future of Rovers I was a bit nervous, all clubs are really going to struggle.
“I wanted to help with investment. If there are no fans coming through the door you are going to struggle, it doesn’t matter how good you are.
“You need money to pay peoples wages, so I felt I had to come up with a plan to help.”
He added: “Once you lose a club, it’s gone forever.
“Nobody is going to restart a club like Albion Rovers. It was too important and I couldn’t not get involved in it.
“When times get tough, you find things like this emerge.”
The Netflix executive believes the new system will “revolutionise the game” as Rovers lead the way – with 24 Scottish clubs set to roll out similar streaming methods with Pixellot.
“I think this will be a gamechanger for football, and first of all a game-changer for Scottish football.
“It’s important to monetise it – football is a business.
“If you aren’t getting money for tickets you can’t pay players and you’re place closes.
“I love the idea of the club getting richer as a result of this. A rescue package was the original idea, but I believe we could make it a global
thing. It will open the club up to ex-pats and fans who can’t go to games.
“For 140 years, football has had the same business plan. Build as many seats as you can and get as many bodies in as you can, and sell them pies and scarfs.”
Delighted chairman Ian Benton hopes the new dawn will help fans concerned about Covid support Brian Reid’s men this term.
He continued: “With Covid, the people who can’t come to games can pay to watch it on the TV.
“If you can’t make it to the ground in the cold weather.
“Mark has been absolutely brilliant – anything we have asked him just hasn’t been a problem.”