Philip 'Phil' Gartside is a businessman and the current chairman of Bolton Wanderers Football Club

Bolton Wanderers F.C.

Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....

.

He joined the board of Bolton Wanderers Football Club in April 1989, having been a fan of the club since his days as a pupil at Leigh Grammar School.

He became chairman of Bolton Wanderers in October 1999 and within weeks appointed Sam Allardyce

Sam Allardyce

Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....

 as manager. While Gartside has been Chairman, the club has consolidated its position in the Premier League and reached the UEFA Cup

UEFA Cup

The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

 for the first time in their history. He has seen a number of high-profile footballers arrive at the club including Nicolas Anelka

Nicolas Anelka

Abdul-Salam Bilal on 14 March 1979) is a French international footballer, who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Chelsea. Anelka was also a regular starter for the French national team...

, Youri Djorkaeff

Youri Djorkaeff

Youri Raffi Djorkaeff is a former French international footballer who played as a forward or as an attacking midfielder. With the French national team, Djorkaeff won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000...

, Jay-Jay Okocha

Jay-Jay Okocha

Augustine Azuka "Jay-Jay" Okocha is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is known for his stepovers, skill, technique, and being 'so good that they named him twice'...

, Fernando Hierro

Fernando Hierro

Fernando Ruiz Hierro is a retired Spanish footballer. He is mostly known for his spells with Real Madrid and Spain, appearing in more than 500 official games with the former and representing the latter on nearly 100 occasions, whilst appearing in four World Cups and two European...

 and Iván Campo

Iván Campo

Iván Campo Ramos is a retired Spanish footballer.Originally a central defender, Campo featured in a defensive midfield role in his later years...

. He is a prominent football administrator, a Football Association

The Football Association

The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...

 Board Member and an executive director of the new Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium

The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...

.

On 23 April 2009, Gartside proposed a plan to his fellow Premier League chairmen about spliting the Premier League into two divisions of eighteen teams in each and allowing Scottish

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 clubs Celtic F.C.

Celtic F.C.

Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

 and Rangers F.C.

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

 to join. UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

have said they will not veto the proposed move.