Super-rich East Mids entrepreneur to head taskforce on sports fans’ mass return

David Ross, the entrepreneur reportedly worth £642m who has close ties to the East Midlands, is set to head a taskforce which will aim to get sports fans back into stadia quicker and more safely.

Sky News says that the Sports Technology Innovation Group (STIG) has chosen a panel of business leaders and experts to work on technology-led to work on ways to get people back to watching live sport that incude a digital self-certification process.

Other members of the group could include co-founder of Betfair Edward Wray and Jonathan Van-Tam, the deputy chief medical officer for England, says Sky News.

Ross, who was born in Grimsby and was the founder of Carphone Warehouse, is also an alumnus of the University of Nottingham and lives on the Grade I listed Nevill Holt Estate near Market Harborough. He also has a second country estate at Brampton Ash in Northamptonshire.

Ross was also part of the consortium which bought Leicester City out of administration before selling the club to Milan Mandaric.

He has been traditionally close to the Conservative Party and a substantial funder in the past.

This weekend will see eight EFL matches played in front of 1,000 fans each as clubs prepare to open their turnstiles to more people.

Rick Parry, the EFL chair, said of the pilot: “It’s encouraging that we are in a position to move forward with the next phase of the pilot programme and give a small number of our clubs the opportunity to welcome back up to 1,000 fans this week.

“The requirement to welcome spectators back through turnstiles has not diminished in any way, the financial challenges facing EFL clubs have been explained on numerous occasions, they are substantial and a problem that requires immediate solutions.”