Charlie Clapham

Charles Clapham (born 7 August 1946), more commonly known as Charlie Clapham, is a former chairman of Southport Football Club, an English football club that play in the National League North.

Clapham was born in Accrington and lived there until he was seven years old. His family then relocated to Coventry. He grew up supporting Coventry City and, having been converted by his brother, Manchester United.

Business interests In 1978, while working in the West Midlands as a regional sales director, he co-founded Palace Chemicals with three business associates. This was followed up by the acquisition of Houseplan, known for their sealants and adhesives, in September 2000. In 2000, Clapham gave former Liverpool and England defender Mark Wright his first managerial job, investing heavily but ultimately failing to win promotion back to the football league.

Clapham oversaw Southport transitioning from a semi professional to professional club in 2006 as an attempt to consolidate their position in the Conference Premier. This was the first time Southport had been a professional club and employed a solely full-time group of players and back room staff. However Southport reverted to part-time status (though some players are full-time in order to train the youth teams).

In 2007, Clapham was elected to the FA Council following Lord Burns' structural review of the national governing body. He serves as a member of numerous committees, representing the views of non-league football.

During Clapham's time as chairman, the club has sold several players for sizeable sums of money and to teams higher up the footballing pyramid. Steve Whitehall was sold to Rochdale A.F.C. in 1991 for a club record £25,000. Carl Baker was the next player to be sold for a large sum of money and in the process smashed the previous club record, moving to Morecambe in July 2007 for a reputed £50,000. In May 2009 Morecambe raided Southport again, signing Mark Duffy for £20,000 after a short loan spell. Zac Aley moved to Blackburn Rovers for an undisclosed fee in February 2010, however it is believed the club would reap the benefits financially if he establishes himself as a first team player.

In the 2011 Birthday Honours, Clapham was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) "for services to Manufacture and to Football in Merseyside."