Wigan Athletic Supporters Club Open Letter

Wigan Athletic Supporters club have written an open letter to the EFL Chair and CEO, please see below.

 

 

Mr Rick Parry and Mr David Baldwin

 

Dear Chair and Chief Executive,

 

We, the undersigned, are writing to the EFL to request that they make a formal statement acknowledging that a full investigation into the events surrounding Wigan Athletic being placed into administration is required before they consider whether the sanction placed on our football club may need to be reviewed.

 

 

More importantly, we request that you then commit to a full review of the EFL “Owners and Directors Test” to ensure that it is fit for purpose. The details of this case are subject to widespread sharing of facts and rumours alike and we are not here to go into the details of the scandalous information that has surfaced about the takeover of our football club. However, we are absolutely clear that our motives in writing this letter are to ensure that this is never allowed to happen again to another EFL club and to ensure the survival of Wigan Athletic Football Club.

 

 

Indeed, the EFL Appendix 3 states that its intention is to “protect the image and integrity of The League and its competitions, the well-being of the Clubs, and the interests of all of the stakeholders in those Clubs”. In this case, it is inherently clear that the test has failed to do the role for which it was intended. We therefore urge the EFL to make a statement now, regarding its intentions surrounding our case and propose to overhaul the “Owners and Directors Test”. It is vital that the EFL act now to ensure that other EFL clubs are not subjected to the appalling situation that Wigan Athletic finds itself in.  

 

 

Finally, and most importantly we would like to urgently request financial support from the EFL to secure the future of our Football Club whilst a suitable buyer is found. We desperately require assistance in paying the hard-working staff behind the scenes who are making sure the club can fulfil its fixtures for the remainder of the season. Whilst our situation was not caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, we now find ourselves unable to secure income from gate receipts due to the pandemic restrictions which is exacerbating our financial issues. We would therefore appeal to the EFL to utilise its COVID impact funding to support Wigan Athletic Football Club in this case.

 

We look forward to your response.

 

Yours sincerely,

Caroline Molyneux (Chairperson)

Mick Wimsey (Vice Chair)

 

Wigan Athletic Supporters Club

 

If you are able to support the Lets Hang On Appeal to raise funds to ensure that the Latics are able to complete the current season and have a fighting chance going forward then please donate through the Supporters Club crowdfunder, link below:

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/official wigan athletic fundraiser