BURY’S phoenix club have launched a membership scheme as they step up their plans to launch next season.

With the future of the town’s historic football club still up in the air, Bury AFC are hoping to take their place in the North West Counties League in the 2020/21 campaign.

The new Shakers, a fan-owned Community Benefit Society, are now inviting supporters to join up to have a say in the club’s future.

For £5 every month or £60 per year, members will be able to vote on pivotal long-term decisions, influence things such as kit designs and be invited to be a board member or volunteer on one of the committees.

“The time has come for us to take the next steps in our journey of bringing football back to Bury,” a Bury AFC statement read.

“We want you, supporters of Bury, to be able to shape the future of this club. We have always said that this is a club owned ‘By the Fans’ and ‘For the Fans’.

“At a time when community has never been so important, we want you to form part of a football club that will work towards having a positive impact for all the people of Bury.

“We are not just asking you to join as a member to help us get a football game on.

“A football club that exists solely on a match day is one that misses the reason why we love to come together to watch football. It is what we have all missed most. It is the shared experience that unites us.

“When we are through the other side of the current restrictions, we want to be ready to help break down the barriers of social isolation and we want you to join us in bringing together people from every background and unite them all in the cause of Bury AFC.

“Your investment, either monthly or annually, will provide us with the financial resources to ensure that the long-term future of the club is protected. It gives the club a buffer should it run into short-term difficulties (such as the current COVID-19 pandemic) and allows us to build the foundations of long-term projects, such as acquiring Gigg Lane, building an academy and investing in training facilities.

“The rest of the world has joined us in having to carry on without football. We will ensure that when normality resumes, Bury AFC are ready to bring the game we love back to the town that we love and unite us under one banner that will seek to make Bury a better place for all.”

Bury AFC are waiting to hear on how the North West Counties League will look next season after steps three to seven of the English football pyramid were declared null and void by the FA due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A consortium’s deal to complete a solvent takeover of Bury FC from owner Steve Dale fell through at the end of last month.

Dale has defaulted on an initial Company Voluntary Agreement designed to repay debts meaning the threat of liquidation looms over the 135-year-old two-time FA Cup winners who were expelled from the Football League last August.