David Sheepshanks
Encyclopedia
David Sheepshanks is the joint-acting Chairman of The FA. He is best known for being the former chairman of Ipswich Town Football Club
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....

 in the Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

 in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

He was elected to the Ipswich Town board in 1987 and was appointed chairman in 1995. Other business interests included Suffolk Foods Ltd which he founded with his brother Rick and was a majority shareholder.

During his time at Ipswich he oversaw promotion to the Premiership through the play off in 2000, two seasons in 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...

 and a period of administration following relegation between February and May 2003. The club entered a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to end the administration. The CVA ended successfully in 2006. During the club's sporting and financial difficulties some fans have called for David Sheepshanks to resign the chairmanship, primarily citing his continued failure to find new investment as a reason. In October 2007 it was announced that the club had secured a £44 million investment from Marcus Evans
Marcus Evans
Marcus Paul Bruce Evans is an English businessman who is also the Owner and Chairman of Ipswich Town Football Club. He has links with Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. He founded his company marcus evans in 1983. The group organises live business, sports and entertainment events around the world...

, and Sheepshanks would remain in post. The deal went ahead in December 2007, and a root and branch investigation by the new owner of how the club was run was initiated.

In 1997 he was appointed chairman of the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 for two years where he helped with the re-structuring of the league. He has since been involved with other boards with the FA
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...

, 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....

 and more recently FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

. In February 2007 he was mooted as a possible leader of England's bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2018.

Sheepshanks is the founder Chairman of the ITFC Education and Sports Trust, a founder trustee of the Community Foundation for Suffolk, Patron of the Ipswich and East Suffolk branch of the Samaritans and President of the Ipswich Citizens Advice Bureau
Citizens Advice Bureau
A Citizens Advice Bureau is one of a network of independent charities throughout the UK that give free, confidential information and advice to help people with their money, legal, consumer and other problems....

 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law by the Suffolk College.

Like his predecessors, Patrick and John Cobbold, Peter Hill-Wood
Peter Hill-Wood
Peter Denis Hill-Wood is a British businessman and the current chairman of Arsenal Football Club.-Biography:Hill-Wood was born in Kensington, London. His father, three uncles and grandfather all played first-class cricket for Derbyshire CCC. He attended Eton College where he was a classmate of...

 (Chairman of Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

), and HRH Prince William (President of the Football Association), Sheepshanks is an Old Etonian.

On July 1, 2008 Sheepshanks stood down as chairman and took an unpaid non-executive rôle at the club. He is currently the chairman of the proposed National Football Centre
St George's Park National Football Centre
St George's Park is the FA's National Football Centre which is situated near Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire and is due to be completed in 2012. It was originally referred to as NFC by The FA and was informally referred to as "Burton" but following a public consultation the FA favoured a name...

 in Burton-upon-Trent.

On May 16, 2010, Sheepshanks was appointed joint acting chairman of The FA along with Roger Burden, following the dramatic resignation of Lord Triesman.

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