Shrewsbury Town's prospective takeover by an American-led consortium has cleared a major regulatory hurdle after receiving approval from the Scottish FA. The ruling allows the group to hold dual interests in acquiring the League Two club and appointing directors to both Shrewsbury and Scottish League Two side Spartans FC.

The Scottish FA has given the green light for the consortium, led by Spartans' majority shareholder Scott Davidson, to appoint Scott Davidson, Will Dotson, and Craig Graham as directors of both clubs. This completes the majority of the regulatory checks required for the acquisition, according to a statement from Spartans FC. The consortium, which also includes former Premier League goalkeeper Brad Friedel, had already passed the due diligence and financial tests set by the English Football League and the Independent Football Regulator.

Long-running saga nears end

The approval moves the long-running deal significantly closer to completion, offering hope to supporters after two previous takeover attempts collapsed. Negotiations with an American buyer ended in March, and a second bid from a different party fell through later. Current chairman Roland Wycherley, who has owned the club since the 1990s and put it up for sale, stated the club will work as quickly as possible to finalise the deal with Davidson's group. Wycherley warned that time and patience will still be important once new owners officially take charge, but there are hopes the takeover could be finalised before Christmas, ending his three-decade tenure.

Brad Friedel expressed the group's optimism, saying consortium members are "very excited" to get started if the takeover is completed. The development arrives as Shrewsbury sit in League Two with points from games, having lost their last two matches. The prospective new owners will inherit a squad looking to climb the table, with the current standings showing a gap to the automatic promotion places. The team's recent form has been a concern, with the club conceding an average of goals per game over the last five matches. Their next fixture is a home game against Accrington Stanley, a key opportunity to halt their slide and start moving away from the relegation zone under the shadow of the impending ownership change.

This story first appeared at Iconic Media