Phil Gartside

Phil Gartside (born 23 August 1941 in Dublin) is an Irish businessman and the current chairman of Bolton Wanderers Football Club.

He is based in Lancashire and is Chairman of Chambers of Commerce North West. Gartside was born in the Dublin suburb of Whitehall in August 1941, to parents Margaret and Patrick. He attended Larkhill Boys School and St. Aidans C.B.S where he first donned studded boots. Gartside had a short stint as a semi-professional footballer in his youth with local side St. Kevin's Boys F.C. and also had trials with Aberdeen and Stoke City. Although unsuccessful this was not to be the end of Gartside's love and influence with the game of football.

Gartside studied commerce in Trinity College, Dublin throughout the early sixties and this is where he met his then girlfriend Mary-Jane Sommerfield, the fundamental reason for his relocation to England. Gartside had his first taste of Bolton Wanderers in the early seventies, when he watched them play in a 1-0 victory over fc|Aston Villa at Villa Park. He was immediately captivated by the passion of the fans and when his then business partner James Connell offered him a season ticket, the Trotters became a part of his life. He bought his way onto the Wanderers board of directors in 1988 for £40,000. Eleven years later he succeeded Gordon Hargreaves as the Bolton chairman.

While he has been Chairman the club has consolidated its position in the Premier League and reached the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history. He has seen a number of high profile footballers arrive at the club including Nicolas Anelka, Youri Djorkaeff, Jay-Jay Okocha, Fernando Hierro and Iván Campo. He is a prominent football administrator and currently is a Football Association Board Member and an executive director of the new Wembley Stadium.

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