Somewhat surprisingly you could say, Devante Rodney has signed a new 2-year contract at Dale!

The club’s new owners have committed to getting back to the football league

It was revealed today that local businessman and entrepreneur Sir Peter Ogden has set up a trust to purchase Rochdale AFC. The agreement was reached following months of back-and-forth debate on the club’s survival; in March, it was thought that the organisation might be about to go out of business.

A number of companies expressed interest in purchasing the Spotland company, but on March 25, Rochdale’s board declared that the Odgen Family was their chosen investment. It was revealed today that three members of the Odgen Trust have acquired shares in Rochdale, so acquiring 69% of the club’s overall equity. The offspring of Sir Peter

Cameron and Edward Ogden and Tiffany Chawner will take on 23pc of the club’s shares each.

Current chairman Simon Gauge has also purchased shares, leaving him with a 21pc ownership of the club. Cameron Ogden will become co-chairman of the club with Mr Gauge. Jamie Willoughby and Adam Saul, who work for the Odgen Trust, are also joining the board as directors.

Jan Wormald, a current board member, has resigned. Representatives of the Ogden Trust have collectively pledged to retain any earnings from the shares for the exclusive advantage of the Rochdale AFC Community Trust.

The Ogden Family plans to introduce a Golden Share, which will be held by the Dale Trust, as stated in their offer to the Club. However, present shareholders will need to approve the introduction of this share.

Cameron Ogden stated, “I am delighted to join the Board of Directors as co-chairman of this great Club,” after the announcement of the acquisition.

Our family has a strong bond with Rochdale, and we hope the Club will play a significant role in the neighbourhood. We are aware of the difficulties that lie ahead, and we’re going to put in endless effort to realise our goals.”

Within three years, the new owners promise to get Rochdale back into the football league. The team recently concluded its inaugural season in the National League with a mid-table performance.

In addition, they have promised to raise Rochale’s “social value to the community” and, regardless of sporting achievement, to make the club financially sustainable within five years.

A representative for Rochale AFC stated in a statement: “The hard work towards achieving these goals has already started. We believe that revenue development is the primary path to sustainability, even though there are certain difficult decisions to be made in order to further reduce costs.

“We have finished the hiring process for the recently established post of Director of Commercial Operations. The chosen applicant will be in charge of this and begin work at the beginning of June.

“In the interim, we ask supporters who already have Season Cards to renew, and those who don’t yet have one to think about getting one this summer. After several seasons of pricing freezes, we grudgingly raised our prices this year, but we’re still convinced they’ll be among the most competitive in the league. More information will be made available in the next days. Season Cards will go on sale on Monday, May 20.

“On the footballing side, we very much believe in stability and building on the foundations of last season. We have indicated to Jimmy McNulty that we see him at the centre of our ambition to return to the EFL in the coming years, and we are working closely with him to put a footballing plan together to achieve this.

“There are many aspirations on the community front, but our immediate focus is to support and work closely with the Community Trust, to help achieve our mutual goals. Our main focus is on developing a Community Sports Hub and a business plan that can offer social mobility through education, alongside the sporting opportunity which the Club can offer.

“An opportunity for the fanbase to meet the new Board will be arranged in the coming weeks, where we look forward to explaining more to supporters about the Club’s plans moving forward.”