David Sharpe (born 11 May 1991) is an English football administrator who has been the head of football operations at Bradford City since April 2024. He was formerly chairman of Wigan Athletic (2015–2019).
Career[edit]
Sharpe was born in Wigan.[1] He was educated at Shrewsbury School, and then studied business at Oxford Brookes University.[2] Sharpe's grandfather is Dave Whelan, who took control of Wigan Athletic in February 1995. Whelan made Sharpe a director at Wigan in December 2014, and was appointed as chairman after Whelan's resignation in March 2015. At the age of 23, he became one of the world's youngest football bosses.[3] Sharpe's appointment came with shock and scepticism from both fans and the media as the youngest chairman in English football.[4][5] He left the club in 2019.[6]
After working at Mansfield Town, he became head of football operations at Bradford City in April 2024.[7][8] The appointment was praised by City manager Graham Alexander.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ "MEET OUR NEW CHAIRMAN, DAVID SHARPE – News – Wigan Athletic". Archived from the original on 30 September 2018.
- ^ "MEET OUR NEW CHAIRMAN, DAVID SHARPE – News – Wigan Athletic". Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- ^ Williams, Mike (3 November 2016). "Meet football's youngest chairman, Wigan Athletic's David Sharpe – BBC Newsbeat". BBC Newsbeat. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- ^ "Ex-Shrewsbury School pupil becomes one of world's youngest football bosses". www.shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- ^ "Can a 23-year-old run a football club?". BBC News. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- ^ "Sharpe to step down after Wigan takeover". BBC Sport.
- ^ "New football head Sharpe wants to be "part of something special" at City". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 3 April 2024.
- ^ "Sharpe ready to get down to business with City strategy for summer". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 3 April 2024.
- ^ "Alexander backs appointment of City's new head of football operations". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 4 April 2024.
External links[edit]
- @DavidSharpe91, Twitter
- @davidsharpe_wafc[permanent dead link], Instagram