Whelan's journey from the 1960 FA Cup final to Wigan

Dave Whelan began his professional football career at Blackburn Rovers in 1956 as a full-back. He played in the 1960 FA Cup final, which his side lost 3-0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers, but he broke his leg in that match and a few months later was sold to Crewe Alexandra, where he spent several seasons before retiring from professional football.

Whelan then bought a grocery business, which he later sold for more than £1.5 million. His biggest profit, however, came from the sports equipment business he ran, worth around £190 million.

The Englishman had a plan to develop a lower-division club. In 1995 he bought Wigan Athletic, then in the Third Division, and promised to take the club to the Premier League. Just a season later Wigan won promotion as Third Division champions. In 2002/2003 the Latics took another big step, winning promotion to the second tier. Ten years after Whelan's promise, he fulfilled it: in the last round of the 2003/2004 season the Latics beat Reading 3-1, finished second and reached the top flight for the first time in their 73-year history.

The greatest success came when Wigan Athletic was winning The FA Cup in 2013. The Latics showed great spirit, beating Everton in the quarter-finals and Millwall in the semi-finals. Ben Watson's goal in the very last minute of the final against Manchester City was enough for Wigan to lift the trophy for the first time in their history. Dave Whelan's dream came true, more than five decades after he had lost the final in 1960.

Although the Latics were relegated at the end of that season, they reached the FA Cup semi-finals again in 2014. They also took part in the Europa League group stage, where they recorded their first win in European competition, 3-1 against Maribor.

Wigan Athletic are now second in League One and close to a return to the Championship. Despite the drop to the third level of English football, Whelan proved he had the right strategy for running a football club. He showed that he was not only a successful businessman but also a man with a deep understanding of the game.

At 79, Dave Whelan remains the president of Wigan Athletic and has promised that the team will return to attractive football. History suggests that when Whelan promises something, he delivers. Wigan supporters have good reason to be proud of their club, because achieving so much in such a short period is almost impossible in the modern game. A return to the Premier League sooner or later looks likely; the only question is when.

From a sports shop to a stadium

The business that made Whelan's fortune began in 1971, when he acquired a Wigan sports shop called JJ Bradburns and kept the JJB initials as the name. JJB Sports grew into one of the biggest sportswear retailers in the country. In January 2007 Whelan sold part of his stake, and later that year he sold the rest of his shares in the company.

His investment in Wigan went beyond the football club. He funded a new stadium, which opened in 1999 as the JJB Stadium and was later renamed the DW Stadium. He also owned a majority stake of 89 per cent in the rugby league club Wigan Warriors, which shared the ground, until Ian Lenagan bought him out with effect from 1 December 2007.

Cup glory and relegation in the same week

The 2013 FA Cup final was played at Wembley on 11 May. Manchester City's Pablo Zabaleta was sent off for a second yellow card in the 84th minute, and Ben Watson, who had come off the bench, headed the winner in stoppage time. It was the first major trophy in the club's history, won under manager Roberto Martínez.

Three days later, on 14 May 2013, Wigan lost 4-1 at Arsenal and were relegated from the Premier League. They became the first club to win the FA Cup and be relegated in the same season. In March 2015 Whelan stepped down as chairman and handed the role to his 23-year-old grandson, David Sharpe, with the family remaining the majority shareholders. Wigan's promotion push in 2015/16 ended in success: managed by Gary Caldwell, they won the League One title and returned to the Championship at the first attempt.