AS many as 100 football fans could end up paying a share of a £185,000 debt to save their club, the Daily Echo can reveal.

The fans are members of AFC Totton which could face closure because of its huge debts – unless they find a financial saviour.

But a newly-formed company has come forward offering to take on the debt in exchange for buying the ground for a pound.

Testwood Park Limited (TPL) is preparing a formal offer to buy the “assets and liabilities” of the ailing Southern League club – including the Stags’ Testwood Stadium home which cost £2.9 million to build less than three years ago.

T P L , headed by Ed Holmes, chairman of neighbouring Totton & Eling FC, is prepared to take on the club’s spiralling debts and, as part of the deal, wants to acquire the freehold of the ground for “a nominal consideration of one pound”.

TPL has written to the club’s management/executive committee requesting to make a presentation to AFC Totton’s membership next Wednesday and then put it to a vote at an extraordinary general meeting on Monday, July 15.

They are sure to meet resistance over their proposal to buy the ground.

But the Football Association has advised the club that the committee and membership are jointly liable for AFC Totton’s enormous debt – so TPL’s proposal offers them the chance to offload it.

A TPL spokesman said: “Having conducted due diligence, we’ve got a reasonable idea of the level of debt AFC Totton are in and we’ve put a positive proposal on the table.

“Our offer is subject to contract and includes the purchase of the freehold title of the Testwood Stadium.

“We are available to make a presentation to m e m b e r s n e x t Wednesday for them to hear our proposal and have requested a response by Monday.

“If our offer is not accepted and no other sponsors are found, it’s likely AFC Totton will go into liquidation.

“But if the m e m b e r s approve it, we will go through a solicitor and have a legal firm from London confirm that the funds are in place.”

From being £58,000 in debt a year ago following an influx of cash from their successful 2011/12 FA Cup run, Totton’s debts had soared to over £179,000 by May this year.

Media reports have suggested the club must pay back £10,000 to the bank by July 1 or risk losing their Testwood Stadium home, but that came as news to Alf Peckham, one of the four trustees in charge of protecting club assets.

Mr Peckham said: “We’ve had loads of meetings and, to my knowledge, nothing’s come onto the table about the bank calling any money in.”

Mr Peckham knew nothing either of the proposed TPL meeting, but confirmed: “We’ve been advised by the FA to get the old management committee back together to tell them that it’s theirs and the m e m b e r s ’ responsibility – not the trustees – to sort the debts out.”

Asked his opinion of TPL’s offer to buy the ground, Peckham added: “The ground’s in trust, so I don’t think they could do it legally. We’d need to get solicitors involved to see where we stand.

Even if we did sell it, it would have to remain a sports ground.”

Totton, meanwhile, has received interest from a potential buyer based in Hayling Island.

“So many people have offered to help, but when we say ‘show us the colour of your money’ they head for the nearest bus stop,”

said Mr Peckham. “There are so many false trails, but we’ll see what this man has to say.”