Insult and injury: A day to forget in the history of Leicester City
Curacao, a Dutch Caribbean island just off the northern coast of South America, has a population of roughly 150,000, which is similar to Ipswich. It doesn’t look much like Ipswich, but it has joined the Suffolk town in the story of Leicester City’s 2024/25 season.
Fosse Friday, our free weekly email about the world of Leicester City Football Club, starts off in draft each Monday morning with a blank screen.
Sometimes we don’t have much to add for the first few days. Then days like yesterday happen and suddenly you’re running out of space to cram in everything that happens.
Yesterday morning, I was sent a news article via WhatsApp about Leicester City’s shirt sponsor BC.Game being declared bankrupt by the court of Curacao.
Upon further investigation, it turned out this had actually happened seven days previously.
I sent the link to the football journalist Philippe Auclair, who posted a thread on Bluesky about BC.Game’s ownership and its connection to a wide-ranging gambling empire called TGP Europe.
Meanwhile, over on various Leicester messageboards, others had picked up on the news and were posting about it.
What the rulings of Curaçao’s court means for the wider world falls into the growing category of things Leicester fans wish we didn’t have to know about. Bring back the days of the club’s connection to former Dutch colonial territories in the Americas being the fact Mark de Vries was born in Suriname.
Instead, it was another blow to the club’s reputation. Another shunt away from being relatable or able to inspire pride.
Leicester City’s policy of near-silence from anyone except the first team manager makes situations like this difficult.
You can’t just take the money and run, and not expect fans to think your words carry weight.
When the sponsorship deal was announced, Susan Whelan said:
“We welcome BC.GAME to Leicester City – an opportunity to work with an innovative partner in a new category for the Club. As a leading global operator in a rapidly evolving environment, BC.GAME already have a history of successful relationships in sport and we look forward to the development of a mutually beneficial partnership.
“The ability to attract high-value partners upon our return to the Premier League is vital to our determination to re-establish Leicester City among the game’s elite, to continue to invest in a competitive squad and to ensure the best possible experience for our supporters.”
The experience for supporters yesterday was pretty dismal. There was nothing to fill the vacuum of information other than this concerned speculation. Fans saw the word bankruptcy and immediately wondered whether that meant we’d be playing in sponsorless shirts on Saturday.
In fact, it was likely to be little more than a reminder that this is the kind of outfit Leicester City have chosen to lump our brand in with. This sponsorship deal represents a shameful episode in the club’s history.
Optimism about earning points on the pitch also took a nosedive yesterday thanks to a photograph of Abdul Fatawu sitting in a hospital bed after a knee operation. With Steve Cooper set to confirm reports that Jordan Ayew also has a similarly long-term injury, our limited attacking options are becoming even more scarce.
Bobby Decordova-Reid is injured, although he has made close to zero impact in his time at the club anyway. For this Saturday, Facundo Buonanotte is suspended. It seems likely that Cooper will turn to Kasey McAteer to fill the void on the right but hopefully this finally means a place at least on the bench for one of the club’s many exciting youngsters.
For a fanbase already largely uninspired by what we’re seeing on the pitch, Fatawu has been a rare spark. And for those of us who go to football to watch players like him, who energise you and get you off your feet, the prospect of him missing the rest of the season makes the rest of the season feel even less palatable.
It’s questionable whether this squad has enough to stay up when everyone’s fit and available but if you start adding injuries and suspensions, it begins to look dangerously uncompetitive at Premier League level.
Of course, one thing Leicester have been in almost every game this season is competitive. We’ve stayed in games despite shots raining down on Mads Hermansen, partly due to his excellence and partly due to luck or the profligacy of the opposition.
The 3-0 defeat at Manchester United felt more reflective of the performances we’ve seen against teams outside the relegation zone with a full complement of players and the outcome you’d expect from such performances.
From the recent high of Ayew’s late, late winner at Southampton to secure back-to-back victories, the reaction to the loss at Old Trafford felt like a new low in the season - sparse pockets of vitriol among a general sense of resignation.
Cue the return of Enzo.
The theme of the past couple of weeks has been “where do we go from here?” In the short-term, the club needs one of those backs-to-the-wall performances that Leicester have always been capable of just when we least expect it. That may or may not come this Saturday but it’ll need to happen soon.
Off the pitch, the news about the club’s main sponsors reinforces the need to hold decision-makers to account and strengthens the drive to achieve this through growing the Foxes Trust’s membership.
Yesterday was a day to forget for various reasons. Let’s hope this Saturday will be, despite all evidence to the contrary, one to remember.
