There have been no meetings between Reading FC and government ministers or officials over the last two years while the club has faced its ongoing ownership crisis, The Reading Chronicle can reveal. 

One of the oldest football clubs in the country has been in crisis since 2022, facing a series of point deductions due financial mismanagement at the club - including late payments to staff.

Earlier this week, reports allege that club owner Dai Yongge owes more than £55 million to a bank backed by the Chinese state, while a US-Saudi consortium has renewed its interest in buying the club. 

Despite fans' and MPs' concerns about the plight facing the club, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has confirmed that it has not held any meetings with Reading FC over the last two years. 

A spokesperson from the government department said: "There have been no individual meetings between Reading FC and Government Ministers or Officials in the timeframe specified."

The department spokesperson said that "the regulation of EFL clubs is a matter for the English Football League."

Earlier today, sport secretary Lisa Nandy said the sports minister would be "delighted" to meet with fans, following an invitation from Earley and Woodley MP Yuan Yang. 

Ms Yang's office has confirmed that she has not met with any club officials.

Matt Rodda, MP for Reading Central, said that he is working to arrange a meeting with the club's property projects manager, Nigel Howe. 

He said: "I want to understand the nature of the new preferred bidder, what stage it has got to, what work is being done on due diligence - and what obstacles there are.

"I want to focus on the future - the really important thing is that Dai and his team speed up the sale process."

James Sunderland, who was MP for Bracknell from 2019 to 2024, said that during his time in office he had received "some correspondence" from Mr Howe. 

The former Conservative MP said: “I didn’t have much success meeting people at Reading FC. I did have some correspondence with Nigel Howe. 

"He wrote to me saying that he was working really hard to find a new owner. People acting on behalf of Reading FC were being paid by Dai Yongge, so were not willing to be as forthcoming as they might have wanted to be. 

“People want to think MP’s have a magic wand to wave. We can’t magic people up to be in a room. It’s all a through influence. 

“When you have a club owner who is pathologically refusing to answer the phone and meet with fans it very difficult.”

He added: “Matt Rodda and the council and I were instrumental in getting the stadium listed as a community asset, which I think was pivotal."

Reports this week have alleged that a loan from Chinese firm Haitong International Securities was secured against the club's stadium, which caused the collapse of a £30 million takeover by Rob Couhig last month.

Other clubs across the UK have faced similar ownership woes in recent years, including financial difficulty clubs in Wigan, Portsmouth, Derby, and Charlton. 

These issues have prompted MPs to bring forward the Football Governance Bill, which aims to create an independent watchdog to regulate club ownership and impose tougher rules on who can own a football club. 

Reading FC official were part of a wider virtual call regarding the Football Governance Bill, according to a spokesperson from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The government spokesperson said: "Reading FC officials were part of a wider virtual call between the previous Secretary of State and 72 EFL clubs ahead of the Football Governance Bill's introduction."

MPs across the area - including Matt Rodda, MP for Reading East, Olivia Bailey, MP for Reading West & Mid Berkshire, and Yuan Yang, MP for Earley and Woodley - have all voiced their support for the government's Football Governance Bill.