I’m the daughter of a Premier League club owner – he set me up with my husband and we got engaged on pitch
THE daughter of Burnley chairman Alan Pace has revealed how her dad helped her meet her husband through the club.
Pace, 54, became chairman of the Clarets when his company, ALK Capital, bought a controlling 84 per cent stake in December 2020.
While he was quick to make an impact upon his arrival at the club, the American businessman also played cupid with his daughter and an employee.
Ashlyn Pace-Ferguson has revealed how her dad played matchmaker between her and her now-husband.
In a TikTok video, she explained: “At the start of the takeover, my parents moved from the US to Burnley while I was studying at Brigham Young University in Utah.
“One day, my dad sent me an email with a picture of a young British guy who was a member of our same church.
“The email said: ‘He works here at Burnley, his name is Joe and I think you should go on a date with him.'”
She added: “Then summer vacation came and my little sister and I came to visit Burnley FC for the first time.
“I spotted Joe in the office and I couldn’t even make eye contact, I thought he was so cute.
“Joe chased me down a stairwell to introduce himself and we spent the whole day and the next few days together, having dinner dates and going to football matches and church activities.
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“We then realised that we wanted to take the leap and do long distance.
“Many months of Facetimes and Trans-Atlantic trips later, I decided I needed to move to Burnley.
“That decision eventually led us to getting engaged in the middle of the pitch at Turf Moor.
“And on August 19, 2022, we got married in Lancashire.”
The couple now live together in Lancashire.
Pace has been chairman of Burnley for almost three years.
Just over a year after his arrival, long-term Clarets manager Sean Dyche was sacked.
He was eventually replaced by Vincent Kompany, who led the club back to the Premier League at the end of last season.