Wigan enter administration weeks after takeover

Wigan are the first professional English club to fall into administration since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paul Stanley, Gerald Krasner and Dean Watson of Begbies Traynor have been appointed as joint administrators of the Latics, who spent eight seasons in the Premier League before they were relegated in 2013, the same year they won the FA Cup.

"Our immediate objectives are to ensure the club completes all its fixtures this season and to urgently find interested parties to save Wigan and the jobs of the people who work for the club," Krasner said.

"Obviously the suspension of the Championship season due to Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the recent fortunes of the club."

Wigan were owned by the Whelan family until 2018 before being taken over by Hong Kong-based International Entertainment Corporation.

The club's ownership changed hands for the second time in two years when they were taken over by a Hong Kong-based consortium headed by Au Yeung in June.

Wigan are 14th in the Championship with 50 points, eight points clear of the relegation zone with six games to play.

The standard penalty for an EFL club entering administration is 12 points, which, if applied, would drop Wigan to the bottom of the standings.