How is this happenning?

3 weeks ago after taking over 75% shares of Wigan Athletic,  Mr Au Yeung of the Next Leader Fund said:

“I am excited to join the Wigan Athletic family and I look forward to working with the Board of Directors to support the club in what is going to be an initially challenging period.

“I hope to work with the staff within the club in the future and most importantly I hope to meet the club’s passionate fans.

“We encourage your feedback on club matters so please continue to help us grow and develop.

“I hope in the future to enjoy Latics games together. Be safe.”

So what has happened since then?

How did the EFL ratify a takeover from a company that has no football knowledge or involvement, apart from Mr Au Yeung being involved in amatuer football.

How can the EFL be so quick to implement the 12 points reduction without reading their own guidelines and rules on excepetional circumstances.

So many questions and not many answers coming out.

For those that don’t remember the press release on 5th June 2020, here it is:

FOLLOWING APPROVAL FROM THE EFL, HONG KONG STOCK EXCHANGE AND THE SHAREHOLDERS OF INTERNATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION (IEC), THE TRANSACTION TO SELL THE MAJORITY SHAREHOLDINGS OF THE WIGAN ATHLETIC GROUP TO NEXT LEADER FUND L.P. HAS NOW COMPLETED.

We can confirm that the sale of the majority shareholdings of the Wigan Athletic Group from International Entertainment Corporation (IEC) to Next Leader Fund L.P. has now formally completed.

The transaction has been formally ratified and approved by the shareholders of IEC, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the EFL.

Next Leader Fund L.P. is a limited partnership and Mr. Au Yeung Wai Kay is the General Partner of the limited partnership. Mr. Au Yeung has many years of experience in business operations management and business leadership in Asia.

Mr. Au Yeung, Man Chun Szeto and Chun Kit Chan will join existing executive directors Darren Royle, Joe Royle, Jonathan Jackson and Thomas Chan on the board of directors of Wigan Athletic Football Club.

Directors Kevin Roberts, Dr. Michelle Chen, Chi Wai Lee, Wing Lam Leung, Cheung Tat Man have stepped down from the board of directors, following completion.

Mr. Au Yeung said:

“I am excited to join the Wigan Athletic family and I look forward to working with the Board of Directors to support the club in what is going to be an initially challenging period.

“I hope to work with the staff within the club in the future and most importantly I hope to meet the club’s passionate fans.

“We encourage your feedback on club matters so please continue to help us grow and develop.

“I hope in the future to enjoy Latics games together. Be safe.”

Darren Royle added:

“We have already faced a challenging couple of months and there are no doubt more ahead following the COVID-19 outbreak. The support from the owners will enable us to negate some of the immediate challenges we face.

“We now have to revive the organisation with innovative and safe ways of practice, which is something the board of directors, the senior management team and a number of staff have been planning and prioritising over the past few weeks.”

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