The Football Foundation gave the club £1.5m through its Football Stadium Improvement Fund (FSIF)to help develop Field Mill in 2001 and has the power to demand repayment.

But fears that any intervention by the funding organisation to claw back its grant could affect the sale of the club appear unfounded.

Talks over the protracted sale of the Stags are continuing this week with further meetings between owner Keith Haslam and James Derry's consortium. A spokesman for the consortium said they hoped to have news for the fans on the progress of the buyout - the consortium is aiming to buy Mansfield Town FC (which would no longer own the ground) and lease Field Mill from landlord Mr Haslam - very soon.

• Delay in Stags takeover

• Mansfield Town FC takeover

Today the consortium said it was aware of the situation with the FSIF and that it did not believe it was an issue in the takeover talks.

Mr Haslam was pictured in Chad in 2001 receiving a cheque for £1,550,000 from the Football Foundation towards the redevelopment of Field Mill, which saw the North, South and West stands rebuilt..

However, a clause in the agreement says that the funding body can seek repayment of all or part of the grant under certain conditions over the following 10 years.

This includes Clause 24 of the agreement:

If a grant funded facility is sold, or transferred or leased or otherwise disposed of, or its ownership changes, or control passes from the Club to a third party, or the grant aided facility ceases to be used for the purpose for which grant was given, the FSIF reserves the contractual right to demand repayment of the grant or (at the FSIF's discretion) a proportion of the market value, whichever is the greater.

So if the grant-funded facility (Field Mill) is taken out of the football club and leased by Mr Haslam - as proposed in the takeover - this would appear to be in a breach of the grant. It is thought that Mr Haslam would be liable, and not the football club's new owners, if any penalty was imposed.

A spokesman for the FSIF told Chad last week: "This matter is on our radar as we have our ears to the ground, but there is no definitive ruling to be applied.

"Each case is taken on its merits of what is best for the football club, the community and the FSIF. If the sale goes ahead we would be looking into whether we need to take any action."

However, no precedent has been set and there are no reports of the FSIF taking any action to recover grants in similiar situations.

A spokesman for James Derry's consortium said: "We have been in contact with the FSIF. We are fully aware of this and have also discussed it with Mr Haslam's representatives and supporters groups."