Wigan Athletic Football Club has officially been sold this week after administrators struck a deal.
The buyers are Phoenix 2021 Limited – a consortium led by Bahraini businessman Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi.
The purchase is still pending approval from the English Football League board – with a final decision expected before the end of the month.
The club said they were hoping the sale would bring some “much needed stability both on and off the pitch.”
The Latics have been plagued by financial problems for many months – with the club being placed into administration in July 2020.
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After suffering relegation to League One, it was feared Wigan would be unable to take part in the 2020/21 campaign, with administrators Begbies Traynor setting a deadline of August 31 for the club to find half-a-million pounds.
Football fans around the world quickly cobbled together more than £652,000 as part of a fundraising campaign – ensuring the Latics survival.
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😃🇧🇭💙 A statement from Phoenix 2021 Limited, the UK-based company owned by Mr Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi, that, subject to EFL Board approval, will become the new owner of Wigan Athletic Football Club.#wafc 🔵⚪️
One previous takeover attempt by a Spanish consortium was blocked in December.
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Wigan’s new Chairman, Mr Talal Al-Hammad, admitted he knew that he would “have to earn [fans’] trust through actions rather than words.”
He also said he wanted to “help restore pride and belief with everyone associated with the Club.”
The Chairman added: “To Latics fans everywhere, we can only guess at the amount of hurt and distress you have felt since the Club entered administration and it is now our focus to stabilise its future and to illustrate why we believe we are the best ownership group for the Club.”
MP for Wigan Lisa Nandy welcomed the takeover news and said it was her “cautious hope that we can finally close the door on the nightmare of recent months and begin a new chapter for Wigan Athletic.”
“It is my cautious hope that we can finally close the door on the nightmare of recent months and begin a new chapter for Wigan Athletic.”
A club statement said: “It is anticipated that the EFL Board approval and all other ownership-transferral matters will be formally completed by 31 March 2021.”
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Wigan currently sit in the relegation zone in League One – picking up 33 points from 34 games.
An official Guinness Fan Zone is coming to Manchester for the Six Nations
Danny Jones
One of the biggest Guinness Fan Zones in the UK is coming to Manchester city centre for the Six Nations this February and the best part of all is, it’s absolutely free.
With the beloved rugby union tournament kicking off on Saturday, 4 February, Guinness are bringing their popular fan zone to our lovely city and just in time for the Wales vs Ireland game, not to mention England vs Scotland later the same day.
Popping up on Baring Street, Mayfield, just round the corner from Piccadilly Station, the Six Nations fan zone will be the biggest outside of London and runs all the way until Saturday 18 March.
Transformed into a dedicated space for rugby lovers to watch the match and enjoy a fresh pint of ice-cold Guinness, the fan zone festivities don’t stop there.
Credit: Supplied
To keep the party rolling, they will also be hosting a series of interactive shows, activities and live performances, including bagpipes, Irish dancers and more. There’s even an interactive beer wall – the first one to be available outside of rugby union’s historic home at Twickenham.
Once again, general admissions tickets to the fan zone are absolutely free, but you can bag yourself a table reservation for £10 per person. Better still, for super fans, you can even grab an exclusive Season Pass for a limited time only, granting you access to all five games in the competition.
This includes a special edition team jersey, access to the best seats in the house and the first 150 customers will also get a Guinness Six Nations tote bag filled with beanies, cushions and foam fingers, even temporary tattoos and face paints for you to get your full colours on.
Last but not least, those who do grab a Season Pass will also be in with a chance to win one of Guinness’ exclusive ‘Money Can’t Buy Experiences‘, this year’s main prize being four tickets to a Six Nations match, a dressing room tour and being trusted with flag bearer duty before kick-off. Mint.
Russian supporters waving Putin flags and wearing ‘Z’ war symbols questioned by police at Australian Open
Danny Jones
A number of Russian supporters attending the Australian Open were spotted waving pro-Putin flags and wearing ‘Z’ war symbols during Novak Djokovic’s match on Wednesday evening.
Spotted in the crowd whilst watching Djokovic’s quarter-final tie against Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev, the group of fans cheering on Rublev are now said to have been questioned by local police following the stunt as a further investigation is expected to be carried out.
The nine-time tournament winner might have seen off the world number six seed in straight sets to progress to the penultimate round of the major, but the controversy that the pro-war display has caused is understandably all anyone can focus on.
You can see a significant number of Russian fans chanting “Putin!” with their flags in the stands below, as well as another man clearly flaunting the ‘Z’ symbol — synonymous with the invasion of Ukraine.
Police have detained four spectators for questioning at the Australian Open after they held up Russian flags with Vladimir Putin’s face.
Another man was seen inside the stadium during the match wearing a t-shirt with a pro-war ‘Z’ symbol. pic.twitter.com/lt8VLuZupF
According to a statement issued by Tennis Australia, four men were questioned by local authorities in Melbourne after they revealed their pro-Putin emblems and reportedly threatened security guards inside the Rod Laver Arena then they were asked to remove them.
Victoria Police have now confirmed that while charges were made, the group of supporters were quickly ejected, with Australian Open organisers reassuring that they will “continue to work closely with event security and law enforcement agencies.”
To make matters worse, Djokovic’s father, Srđan, was later seen posing with what appears to be the same group of fans and images of Vladimir Putin outside the stadium.
The Serbian has not long put his own controversy behind him after being deported from the country due to covid regulations and his anti-vax stance last year. This surely won’t help.
The father of tennis star Novak Djokovic is under fire for posing with pro-Russian fans at the Australian Open. It's sparked a new political storm, as spectators clashed with security guards. https://t.co/b3nAU1JF34#7NEWSpic.twitter.com/ieZoVIJ2il
The Russian invasion has been an ongoing issue at the Open, with Russian and Belarusian players now having to compete under a neutral flag.
This comes after spectators had initially been allowed to bring any flag into the arena with them. However, following the incident, certain Russian flags are now prohibited and security guards have been provided with pamphlets in order for them to check for approved national emblems.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was both surprised and relieved to find out that Germany has confirmed they will be sending Leopard 2 tanks to bolster his country’s defences, which he only learned whilst in the middle of an interview with Sky News’ Kay Burley.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Sky News he is "very happy" and "thankful" that Germany has decided to supply 14 Leopard 2 tanks – but warned the quantity and delivery time of the vehicles is "critical".
The Manc -
16th March 2021 
