Bury AFC members have shared their story with the government ahead of plans to transform the way football clubs are run.

The Fan-Led Review, led by MP Tracey Crouch, aims to bring in rules to ensure clubs are organised more securely.

It is hoped this would help avoid clubs being left facing major financial difficulties such as Bury FC in 2019 when it was expelled from the Football League.

The formation of an independent regulator to govern football clubs is one of the review's recommendations.

Officials of Bury AFC, which was set up in December 2019, met with Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer last week to share their heartbreaking experiences as Shakers fans.

Bury FC, which first played at Gigg Lane in 1885 when it was established and won the FA Cup in 1900 and 1903, has been unable to return to the league system since.

At the meeting, AFC members vented their "anger and frustration" about how Bury FC's previous two owners, Stewart Day and Steve Day, ran the club.

Last year it was also revealed they were both declared bankrupt within months of each other.

READ NEXT > Former Bury FC chairmen declared bankrupt within months of each other

Bury Times: Stewart Day, left, and Steve Dale, rightStewart Day, left, and Steve Dale, right (Image: Newsquest)

AFC want "positive steps" to be introduced in the form of a proposed government White Paper through the review so more fanbases don't suffer the same pain as Bury's.

On Friday, a club spokesman said: "Bury AFC and its members have contributed to the proposed reforms to football in recent years, and in particular through the Fan-Led Review chaired by Tracey Crouch.

"We were pleased to meet with the new Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Lucy Frazer MP, this week to put our story across.

"We conveyed the anger and frustration Bury supporters felt as the club was destroyed by Day and Dale, and also the positive steps we have taken at Bury AFC to prevent those mistakes from happening again, as best we can.

"We hope the White Paper, which should be out soon, will make help preserve the security of football clubs in years to come, and learn from the mistakes of the past.

"We can’t change history but we can make a better future."

Both Day and Dale made comments to back their commitment to the club during its struggles.

READ NEXT > Fan group's bid to bring professional football back to Gigg Lane dealt fresh blow

READ NEXT > Footballing stars from past to play in Bury 10 years on from soldier's death