Stephen Thompson (born 1965 or 1966) is a Scottish businessman, who was the

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

Scottish football Association football is one of the national sports of Scotland and the most popular sport in the country. There is a long tradition of "football" games in Orkney, Lewis and southern Scotland, especially the Scottish Borders, although many of ...

club

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

. He is the son of former United chairman Eddie Thompson, who died of prostate cancer in October 2008. Stephen Thompson then succeeded to the chair of Dundee United, a position he held until March 2018.

Involvement with Dundee United

Thompson joined the Dundee United board in 2002 whilst taking on the role as Marketing Director at Morning, Noon and Night. His father Eddie Thompson was the founder and Chief executive at Morning, Noon and Night and also the chairman of Dundee United. In February 2008, his father promoted him as chief executive with immediate effect. Following the 2010 Scottish Cup victory, Thompson says he dedicated the cup to his late father. Thompson told BBC Scotland that the

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

leaving Scottish Premier League could damage the Scotland's top flight. Thompson was an opponent of the proposal to reduce the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

from 12 clubs to 10. Thompson was also a member of the board of the Scottish Premier League until his resignation in late November 2012, citing "professional differences". The resignation was explained over a clash with Ralph Topping and claims over leaking sensitive information. In February 2014, Thompson managed to help the club pay off their debt to the bank, the club have loaned. The announcement were welcomed by financial experts. In the years prior to this, the club had sold Johnny Russell to

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

for £750,000 and

David Goodwillie David Goodwillie (born 28 March 1989) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Glasgow United. Born in Stirling, Goodwillie came through the Dundee United youth system and he won the SPFA and SFWA Young Player of th ...

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

for £2 million. Thompson says he was able to mend the club's mistakes during his father reign as the chairman and now handled their finance. In September 2014, Thompson revealed the investor was interested buying the club earlier this 2014. However, Thompson rejected the approach. The club was relegated to the

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...

in 2016, after they finished last in the 2015–16 Scottish Premiership. Dundee United announced in January 2018 that Thompson would be stepping down as chairman at the end of the 2017–18 season. Thompson resigned in March 2018, and announced his intention to sell his shareholding in the club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Stephen Dundee United F.C. directors and chairmen Living people Chairmen and investors of football clubs in Scotland Year of birth uncertain Year of birth missing (living people)