Soccer-Phoenix 2021 completes Wigan takeover

(Reuters) – Wigan Athletic have been bought by UK-based Phoenix 2021 Limited, eight months after they were forced into administration, the English League One (third tier) club announced.

Wigan went into administration last July, less than a month after being taken over by a partnership led by Hong Kong businessman Au Yeung Wai Kay.

They were relegated from the Championship after a 12-point penalty imposed by the Football League (EFL).

The board of Phoenix 2021, a consortium led by Bahraini businessman Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi, will consist of Talal Al-Hammad as chairman, Tom Markham and Oliver Gottmann as non-executive directors, finance director Richard Bramwell and chief executive Malachy Brannigan.

“This is the start of a new chapter in the history of Wigan Athletic,” Al-Hammad said at https://wiganathletic.com/news/2021/march/Phoenix-2021-Limited-complete-the-acquisition-of-Wigan -Club -athletic-football. “I feel excited and happy to start this new challenge.

“Thank you to all the fans who have been with the club, especially over the last nine months. Wigan Athletic fans are no different than a family that sticks together in terms of weight.

“As a group we have been looking forward to this day for what seems like an eternity… The fans have stuck with the club through a very dark time and we will do everything we can to ensure the club’s future is a much healthier and more stable one .”

Wigan spent eight seasons in the Premier League before being relegated in 2013, the same year they won the FA Cup.

They are 22nd out of 24 teams in League One with 35 points with nine games remaining.

(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)