Morecambe FC was suspended from the National League as its owner failed to sell or fund it

BBC Sport reported on 4 August 2025 that Morecambe FC, 105 years old and one of the biggest employers in its seaside town, faced "the imminent prospect of shutting down". Owner Jason Whittingham's failure to sell the club had led to its suspension from the National League. Players had been sent home a week earlier and could not train for lack of insurance cover, and the academy had stopped functioning.

Salaries for staff and players had been delayed or not paid in some months. Kit man Les Dewhirst, who has worked at the club for 30 years, said he was last paid in May and was eating into his savings, and that some colleagues were using food banks. Former co-chairman Rod Taylor said he had been removed from the board earlier in the summer in a video call hastily arranged by Whittingham. Supporters led by The Shrimps' Trust had protested for years and demanded he sell. Takeover deals had been agreed in the past, but none came to fruition.

The Shrimps' Trust chair Pat Stoyles said the lack of communication from Whittingham was the biggest problem. The BBC repeatedly tried to contact him and approached him outside his home, but he did not answer questions. Local businesses that rely on matchday trade, such as the Royal Hotel on the seafront, said losing it would cost them tens of thousands.

Suspension from the National League, unpaid wages, players unable to train and the club's 105-year future at risk.

The owner did not sell the club, so previously agreed takeovers never completed.

Wages were paid late or not at all, and insurance cover lapsed, so players could not train.

He communicated almost nothing with fans or the press, according to supporters' representatives.

The former co-chairman says he was removed from the board in a hastily arranged video call.

An owner who will neither fund a club nor sell it, and who will not communicate, leaves staff, fans and the town's businesses to carry the loss.

The National League was due to meet again on 20 August 2025 and, unless convinced Morecambe had the financial means to complete the season, would formally expel the club from the division. The BBC's article does not report the result of that meeting. Fans, staff and players were waiting to see whether Whittingham would sell before it was too late.