League Championship side Wigan Athletic Chair Dave Whelan has "resigned from his position," according to the BBC. The 78-year-old will "stay as owner but his grandson, 23-year-old David Sharpe, will oversee the running of the club." Whelan took over at Wigan in Feb. '95 and oversaw its "rise from the fourth tier to the Premier League." Sharpe, who was appointed as a director in December, will be "formally confirmed as Wigan chairman in the near future." Whelan's reign as chairman ends with Wigan 23rd in the Championship and "nine points from safety with 12 league games to play, but his impact on the club during his 20 years at the helm has largely been a successful one" (BBC, 3/3). In London, Matt Lawton wrote Whelan "stands aside for a 23-year-old whose previous role included the running of a family restaurant, Sharpy's, outside Wigan's ground." It was "last seen boarded up at a cost to Whelan," reportedly, of £1.3M ($2M). Wigan said in a statement, "The Whelan family will remain as majority shareholders but Mr Whelan himself will no longer be a part of the day-to-day operations at the club." In a further statement, Whelan said, "The time has now come to hand over the reins. I am approaching 80 years old and spend an increasingly long time abroad, and cannot make it to games. It is a decision I have been mulling over for some years and I believe David is now ready" (DAILY MAIL, 3/3). Also in London, Mike Keegan reported Sharpe, 23, is an Oxford University graduate who has "impressed his granddad with his business acumen." Whelan "clearly feels comfortable with handing over the reins despite Sharpe's tender years and has often been heard singing his praises." Whelan identified Sharpe as a successor "as long ago" as '11. According to a club insider he "intensified his efforts to show him the ropes in the last 12 months." Sharpe's "all access pass," however, did not "go down well with everyone." One former employee quipped, "He was turning up in places you would not expect to see the chairman himself, let alone his grandson" (DAILY MAIL, 3/3).
