Wigan Athletic F.C.

Wigan Athletic Football Club (/ˈwɪɡən/) is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system.

Wigan Athletic

Full name	Wigan Athletic Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Latics The Tics
Founded	1932; 92 years ago (1932)
Ground	The Brick Community Stadium
Capacity	25,138
Owner	Mike Danson
Chairman	Ben Goodburn
Manager	Shaun Maloney
League	EFL League One
2023–24	EFL League One, 12th of 24
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Founded in 1932, they have played at the 25,138-seat The Brick Community Stadium since 1999, before which they played at Springfield Park. Their colours are blue and white stripes, although all-blue shirts have been common throughout the club's history. The club regards Bolton Wanderers as its primary derby rival. Wigan competed in the Cheshire County League for the first nine seasons of the club's existence, winning three league titles before being placed in the Lancashire Combination in 1947. It spent 14 years in the Lancashire Combination and secured four league titles during this time. It spent 1961 to 1968 back in the Cheshire County League, picking up another league title in 1964–65. Invited to become a founder member of the Northern Premier League in 1968, the club won two league titles and also reached the FA Trophy final in 1973. Wigan was elected to the Football League in 1978 and was promoted out of the Fourth Division in 1981–82. The club won the Associate Members' Cup in 1985, but was relegated back into the fourth tier in 1993. It won the Third Division title in 1996–97, the Football League Trophy in 1999 and the Second Division in 2002–03, before securing promotion out of the Championship in 2004–05.

Wigan was the beaten finalist in the League Cup in 2006 and won the FA Cup in 2013, beating Manchester City in the final. However, the club was relegated later that year, bringing its eight-season stay in the Premier League to an end. The FA Cup success did, though, gain it a place in the UEFA Europa League group stages the following season. Relegated from the Championship in 2015, the club won the League One title in 2015–16 and repeated this feat in 2017–18 after another relegation. On 1 July 2020, less than a month after a change of ownership, it was placed into administration and was relegated from the Championship due to the subsequent points deduction. After narrowly avoiding relegation to League Two in 2020–21 under new ownership, Wigan won the League One title for a fourth time in 2021–22, but a year later were again relegated from the Championship following two further points deductions. Additional deductions of points were made in May 2023, meaning the club would start the 2023–24 League One season with minus eight points.

History

Main article: History of Wigan Athletic F.C.

Non-League football: 1932–1978

Wigan Athletic was formed in 1932, following the winding-up of Wigan Borough the year before. The establishment of Wigan Athletic was the sixth attempt to create a stable football club in the town following the demise of Wigan A.F.C., Wigan County, Wigan United, Wigan Town and Wigan Borough. The town's die-hard football enthusiasts planned the rebirth of a town team, and a public meeting was held at the Queen's Hall presided over by the then Mayor of Wigan, Councillor W.A. Hipwood, and Callum Roper, who called on the town to keep up its reputation for producing fine sportsmen by keeping intact an Association Football team as well as the Rugby League team. A committee was elected and a new club was formed, Wigan Athletic. Springfield Park, the former home of Wigan Borough, was purchased by the club for £2,850^[1] from the owners of the Woodhouse Lane dog track. Despite their initial application being turned down, Wigan Athletic were elected into the Cheshire County League following the resignation of Manchester Central. The club had also made the first of many attempts to be admitted into the Football League, but failed to receive a single vote. On 27 August 1932, Wigan Athletic played their first-ever league game against Port Vale Reserves. The team played in red and white shirts with black shorts.^[2]

Wigan Athletic won its first honours in the 1933–34 season, finishing top of the Cheshire League, despite being based in neighbouring Lancashire. In the following season the club won a second league championship and also entered the FA Cup for the first time,^[3] defeating Carlisle United 6–1 in the first round – a cup record for the biggest victory by a non-League club over a League club. In the 1935–36 season, the club won its third consecutive Cheshire League title and the Lancashire Junior Cup.

After the Second World War, Wigan Athletic adopted their present-day blue and white colours.^[2] The club struggled to assemble a competitive side and finished bottom of the league in 1946–47 season. Despite their pre-war success, the club failed to gain re-election and was replaced by Winsford United. The club joined the Lancashire Combination, winning the league in their first season.^[3] In 1950, Wigan Athletic came close to election to The Football League, narrowly losing out to Scunthorpe United and Shrewsbury Town. The club would frequently apply for election to the Football League over the next 28 years before finally being accepted.

In the 1953–54 season, Wigan played an FA Cup match against Hereford United in front of a crowd of 27,526 – a club record and also a record attendance for a match between two non-League teams at a non-League ground. In the next round of the cup, Wigan Athletic was drawn against First Division side Newcastle United. Wigan Athletic held their top-flight opponents to a 2–2 draw at St James' Park, but went on to lose the replay 3–2. In 1961, the club moved back to the Cheshire League.

In the 1964–65 season, Wigan Athletic won its first Cheshire League title since returning to the league,^[3] with top goalscorer Harry Lyon scoring 66 times. He remains the club's greatest goalscorer of all time. Wigan Athletic won four cup titles in the 1966–67 season (Lancashire Floodlit Cup winner, Liverpool Non League Senior Cup winner, Northern Floodlit League winner, Northern Floodlit League Cup winner) and was also Cheshire County League runner-up.^[4]

In 1968, Wigan Athletic was a founder member of the Northern Premier League. In winning the league title in 1970–71, the leading goalscorer, with 42 goals including seven hat-tricks, was Geoff Davies, who scored 28 goals in the following 1971–72 season. The team played at Wembley Stadium for the first time in the 1973 FA Trophy final, where they lost 2–1 to Scarborough. After 34 failed election attempts, including one controversial but headline-making application in 1972 to join the Scottish League Second Division, Wigan Athletic was elected to the Football League in 1978.

Early League years: 1978–1995

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wigan Athletic's original league kit

Wigan Athletic finished in second place in the Northern Premier League in the 1977–78 season, behind winners Boston United. But as Boston's ground and facilities did not meet the Football League criteria for a League club, whereas Springfield Park did, Wigan Athletic were put forward for election to the league. There was no automatic promotion to the Football League until 1987, and at that time a club had to be 'voted out' of the League to allow a non-League team to be promoted in their place. At the end of the 1977–78 season, Southport finished next to the bottom of the old Fourth Division, and faced near neighbours Wigan Athletic for their place in the league. The first round of voting was tied, with both clubs receiving 26 votes. After a tense re-vote which Wigan won 29–20, Southport lost their place in the Fourth Division and Wigan Athletic became an English League club on 2 June 1978.^[5]

In the club's first season of league football, Wigan Athletic finished in sixth place, just six points off promotion and playing in front of an average crowd of 6,701.^[6] Two more top-half finishes came in the following seasons, though a relatively weak 1980–81 season saw the dismissal of long-serving manager Ian McNeill shortly before the end of the season. They gained their first Football League promotion under the management of former Liverpool player Larry Lloyd in 1981–82, when a points tally of 91 saw them join the former Division Three for the first time, beginning a 10-year spell in English football's third tier. The club struggled in their first season in Division Three, which led to Lloyd's sacking in early 1983, at which point Bobby Charlton, a director at the time, took over as temporary manager before being replaced by Harry McNally. Under McNally's management, the club stabilised in Division Three and secured a pair of mid-table finishes, but a dreadful 1984–85 season cost him his job, with Tranmere manager Bryan Hamilton stepping into the breach. Under Hamilton's management, the club's performances went to the next level and they won their first silverware as a league club that season with the Freight Rover Trophy. They were beaten in the Northern final of the same competition the following season by Bolton Wanderers. More importantly, Hamilton achieved Division Three survival, which had looked an impossible task earlier that season.

 

Chart of yearly table positions since Wigan's election into the Football League

The 1985–86 season saw a marked improvement in the club's league form, eventually finishing in fourth position, a then-club record high which would stand for 17 years until 2002–03. Wigan Athletic finished the season just one point outside the promotion places in the final season before the Football League introduced the play-off system for promotion and relegation. However, Hamilton's feats attracted the attention of First Division Leicester City and he left to become their manager in the summer of 1986. His assistant, Ray Mathias, who had followed him from Tranmere, stepped up to the Wigan Athletic manager's job. Wigan Athletic managed an identical fourth-place finish in the 1986–87 season, but this time were rewarded with the chance to compete for the final promotion place in the new play-off system. (In the first two years of the play-off system, teams finishing third, fourth and fifth joined the team finishing 20th in the division above to play-off for the promotion place; this was changed to the teams finishing third, fourth, fifth and sixth from the 1988–89 season). The Latics lost at the two-legged semi-final stage to Swindon, who went on to win the final promotion place.

The fourth-place finishes of the 1985–86 and 1986–87 seasons proved to be the high points of Wigan Athletic's first stint in Division 3. For the next five years, they finished mid-table, flirting with relegation in 1988–89 (at which time Mathias was sacked and the previous manager Bryan Hamilton returned) and 1989–90, until they were relegated for the first time in the club's league history in 1992–93. Wigan Athletic finished in 23rd place, amid tumbling attendances which had fallen from averages of 3,000–4,000 in Wigan Athletic's Division 3 years to just 2,593 in 1992–93.^[6] Hamilton resigned shortly before the club were relegated, and was replaced by Kenny Swain. A year later, with the club back in the fourth tier of the English League, the Latics finished fourth from bottom, in 19th place. While there was no relegation that season due to the lack of a promotable club in the Football Conference, this remains the club's lowest-ever finish. The following season would prove to be arguably even worse, as Swain was sacked early in the campaign following a horrific start, and former player Graham Barrow took over as manager. Despite the club being rooted to the bottom of the table until the start of December, the second half of the campaign saw a major upturn in form, and they finished well clear of the relegation zone in 15th place. Attendances fell to a lowest-ever Wigan Athletic League average of 1,845 by 1995.

Rising through the league: 1995–2005

 

Local entrepreneur Dave Whelan acquired the club in 1995, providing funds to move into the JJB Stadium, then renamed the DW Stadium after Whelan's sports shops, DW Sports.

In February 1995, local millionaire and owner of JJB Sports, Dave Whelan purchased the club. Through Whelan's business connections in Spain he attracted three Spaniards to the club – Roberto Martínez, Isidro Díaz, and Jesus Seba – who became known as the Three Amigos.^[7] The trio became the on-pitch symbols of Whelan's ambitious plan to take Wigan Athletic into the Premier League. The Three Amigos were joined at the club by John Deehan, who replaced Barrow as manager during the 1995–96 season following a 6–2 home defeat to Mansfield Town. Deehan took the Latics within two points of a play-off place in his first season; the club had in fact been in the final automatic promotion spot with four games remaining, but lost them all and so failed to even make the playoffs. The following year Wigan Athletic became Division Three champions on the last day of the season, Graeme Jones scoring a club record 31 league goals in the process. In most seasons they would have been runners-up, but a temporary rule change which saw goals scored take precedence over goal difference allowed them to finish above runners-up Fulham, who had the same number of points and a better goal difference.

Following a mid-table finish in Division Two the following season, Deehan quit to become Steve Bruce's assistant at Sheffield United. He was succeeded by Ray Mathias, who returned for his third stint as Wigan Athletic manager. Mathias' team won the Football League Trophy in 1999, beating Millwall 1–0 at Wembley Stadium. The same season the Latics reached the Division Two play-offs, losing 2–1 on aggregate to Manchester City. Mathias was sacked, and replaced by John Benson. He led the team to the top of Division Two in his first six months, but they were only able to qualify for the play-offs. In the last Division Two play-off final played at the old Wembley Stadium, Wigan lost 3–2 after extra time to Gillingham.

Benson moved 'upstairs' to the new post of director of football in the summer of 2000, when former Arsenal manager Bruce Rioch took the manager's job for the 2000–01 season. Rioch was hampered by severe injury problems and after a difficult and often unimpressive first half of the season left the club in February 2001. He was temporarily replaced by club stalwart Colin Greenall, before the surprise appointment of Steve Bruce for the final eight games of the season. His arrival brought renewed vigour to Wigan Athletic performances, but the club ultimately lost in the play-offs again, this time against Reading, and Bruce left for Crystal Palace.

In the summer of 2001, the former Latics forward Paul Jewell took over as manager following an unsuccessful spell at Sheffield Wednesday. His first season in charge saw mixed results and an embarrassing defeat to non-League Canvey Island in the FA Cup first round, although the club eventually finished in mid-table. Jewell's second season in charge was far more successful. Wigan Athletic went on a run to the quarter-finals of the League Cup, beating Premier League opponents West Brom, Manchester City and Fulham en route. Wigan Athletic won the Division Two championship in 2002–03 with a points total of 100, powered by the goals of then-record £1.2 million signing Nathan Ellington, with a run of 10 consecutive wins along the way. The club lost only four times all season, and Wigan Athletic secured promotion to the second tier of the English Football League for the first time in their history.

After losing their first Division One game, Wigan Athletic confounded expectations to go unbeaten for the next 17 games and topped the division by November 2003. A weak finish saw Wigan Athletic win only three of their last 10 games to finish seventh in Division One – a last-minute goal by West Ham's Brian Deane in the final game of the season saw the Latics drop out of the play-off places in favour of eventual play-off winners Crystal Palace.

Hoping to build on the previous season's disappointing finish, the Latics went one better than 2003–04 by remaining unbeaten for the first 17 games of the 2004–05 season. Along with Sunderland and Ipswich, the Latics remained in the promotion hunt all season. By the last day of the season, Sunderland had already won the title and Wigan needed at least a draw against Reading – who themselves needed to win to finish in sixth place – to beat Ipswich to the last automatic promotion spot. A 3–1 victory at the JJB Stadium earned Wigan Athletic promotion to the top division of English football for the first time in their 73-year history.

Premier League years and FA Cup victory: 2005–2013

 

Wigan Athletic's first Premier League match against Chelsea

The club's first Premier League game was a sell-out at the JJB Stadium against holders Chelsea, a 1–0 defeat after an injury-time winner by Hernán Crespo.^[8] A successful run followed, and by November, Wigan were second in the league. Good league form was coupled with an equally strong performance in the Football League Cup, with Wigan reaching their first ever major cup final after defeating Arsenal on away goals in the semi-final. In the final, Wigan were defeated 4–0 by neighbours Manchester United.^[9] Wigan Athletic eventually finished the season in 10th place, which remains the club's highest ever league placing. Defender Pascal Chimbonda was also included in the 2005–06 PFA Team of the Season,^[10] capping off his season by being picked for the France squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

During the close season, Wigan sold many players who had starred in their first season in the Premier League, such as Jimmy Bullard, Jason Roberts and Stéphane Henchoz, while bringing in replacements including Emile Heskey, Denny Landzaat, Chris Kirkland and Antonio Valencia. After a mid-table start to the 2006–07 season, Wigan had eight consecutive losses from mid-December, but was 15th in early March. On the final day of the season, Wigan got a 2–1 away win against Sheffield United, which kept them up at the expense of their opponents. The following day, Paul Jewell unexpectedly resigned as manager; his assistant Chris Hutchings was appointed as his replacement.

Wigan's third Premier League campaign saw changes in the squad, with Titus Bramble, Mario Melchiot, Jason Koumas and Marcus Bent among the players brought in, and Melchiot was installed as the new club captain. The 2007–08 season began well for Wigan, with Emile Heskey recalled to the England squad, as the first Wigan player to represent England whilst a full member of the club. However, he broke his foot immediately after his England call-up and was out injured for six weeks. The club's league position subsequently worsened, and on the back of a run of six consecutive defeats, Wigan fell into the relegation zone. Whelan took the decision to sack Hutchings on 5 November 2007, after 12 games in charge, reinstating Bruce, who saved the club from relegation.

In the summer of 2008, Bruce signed Lee Cattermole from Middlesbrough for £3.5 million, and Egyptian striker Amr Zaki sign on an initial one-year loan. Zaki had scored 10 Premier League goals by February 2009, as Wigan reached seventh place in the table with 34 points from 25 games. January saw the departure of two key first team members, Wilson Palacios and Emile Heskey, to Tottenham and Aston Villa respectively. Despite these changes, Wigan finished the season in 11th place with 45 points, their second-best finish ever in the Premier League. On 3 June, Bruce left Wigan for the second time to take over the vacant manager position at Sunderland.^[11] July saw the departure of another key first team member Antonio Valencia to Manchester United.^[12] Before the 2009–10 season got underway, Cattermole left for Sunderland.

 

Former Wigan player Roberto Martínez managed the club to victory in the 2013 FA Cup final, their first major honour.

Wigan appointed Roberto Martínez, then manager of Swansea City, as manager prior to the 2009–10 Premier League season.^[13] He previously played for Wigan from 1995 to 2001. On 26 September, they claimed their first three points against a "Big 4" team after beating Chelsea 3–1, with goals from Titus Bramble, Hugo Rodallega and Paul Scharner. A late surge that included a 1–0 win over Liverpool and a 3–2 win over Arsenal – the latter of which saw Wigan recover from two goals down with ten minutes remaining to win in injury time – saw the team once more survive relegation. Most notably, having never defeated any of the traditional "Big Four" in the league until their win over Chelsea (and with only one win over any of them in cup competitions), Wigan ended the season having defeated three of them at home. Despite this high, the season also saw two humiliating 8 goal defeats, firstly a 9–1 thrashing at Tottenham in November,^[14] and finally an 8–0 defeat to Chelsea on the final day of the season, a match which saw their opponents crowned Premier League champions.^[15]

In the 2010–11 season, Wigan fell to the bottom of the league by the end of February, following a 4–0 defeat to Manchester United.^[16] However, despite remaining in the bottom three for the majority of the season, they managed to retain their Premier League status on the last day of the season, defeating Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium after a goal from Hugo Rodallega.^[17] On 7 May 2012, they simultaneously secured their Premier League status and relegated Blackburn Rovers with a 1–0 victory at Ewood Park.

 

Members of the Wigan Athletic board holding the FA Cup trophy following the club's victory at the 2013 final

In 2013, after beating Everton in the quarter-final and Millwall in the semi-final, Wigan reached the FA Cup final for the first time in their history. In the final, played at Wembley Stadium, Wigan beat Manchester City 1–0, with a goal by Ben Watson scored in injury time.^[18] Wigan's first ever major trophy also gave the club a place in the group stage of the Europa League.^[19] Following their 4–1 defeat to Arsenal three days later, Wigan Athletic ended their eight-year spell in the Premier League and became the first team to be relegated and win the FA Cup in the same season. On 5 June it was announced that Martínez had left Wigan and had signed for Everton on a four-year deal.^[20]

End of the Whelan era: 2013–2018

Owen Coyle became the new manager of Wigan Athletic when Martínez left for Everton.^[21] The team lost to Manchester United in the Community Shield. Coyle left by mutual agreement on 2 December 2013 after a poor start to the season,^[22] and was replaced by Uwe Rösler. On 12 December in his first match, Wigan were eliminated from the Europa League group stage after defeat to Maribor.^[23] On 9 March 2014 Wigan beat Manchester City to reach the semi-final of the FA Cup at Wembley for the second successive year, where they played Arsenal, and lost 4–2 on penalties after normal time and extra time resulted in a 1–1 draw. After finishing 5th in the Championship, Wigan lost their play-off semi-final to Queens Park Rangers.^[24]

Rösler was sacked in November 2014 with the club in the relegation places,^[25] and was replaced by Malky Mackay. Whelan resigned as chairman on 3 March 2015, remaining as owner but handing over the chairmanship to his grandson David Sharpe.^[26] The following month, with Wigan in danger of relegation to League One, Mackay was sacked and replaced by former Wigan captain Gary Caldwell,^[27] yet the team ended the season with relegation.^[28] The squad changed drastically, including the signings of Will Grigg from Brentford and Reece James from Manchester United.^[29][30] The side lost only once in 23 matches in the second half of the season^[31] and won the division, with Grigg the league's top scorer with 25 goals.^[32]

 

Will Grigg (left) and club chairman David Sharpe celebrating Wigan's promotion from League One to the Championship in 2016

In October 2016, following a poor start to the season, Caldwell was sacked as manager^[33] and replaced by Manchester United coach Warren Joyce.^[34] Results did not improve under Joyce, who was sacked in March 2017.^[35] Wigan were subsequently relegated back to League One in April and interim manager Graham Barrow left, ending a 15-year association with the club.^[36] Paul Cook, who had just won League Two with Portsmouth, was appointed Wigan manager in June 2017.^[37]

In the 2017–18 League One season, Wigan finished top winning promotion back to the Championship. Their promotion was sealed by a 4–0 win against Fleetwood Town.^[38] In the 2017–18 FA Cup, Wigan beat Manchester City in the fifth round at home, winning 1–0 after Will Grigg scored in the 79th minute.^[39] In the quarter-finals, they were knocked out by Southampton in a 2–0 loss.^[40] At the end of the season it was announced that the Whelan family had agreed a deal to sell the club, stadium and training facilities to the Hong Kong-based International Entertainment Corporation (IEC) in a £22m deal.^[41] On 2 November 2018, IEC received shareholder approval to complete the acquisition of the football club, ending 23 years of Whelan family ownership.^[42]

In the 2018–19 season, Wigan finished 18th in the Championship with 52 points, well clear of the relegation zone.^[43]

Administration, financial instability, and new ownership: 2020–present

On 4 June 2020, IEC sold the majority of Wigan Athletic shareholdings to Hong Kong-based Next Leader Fund; the sale was formally ratified and approved by the shareholders of IEC, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the EFL.^[44] On 1 July 2020, the club – standing 14th in the Championship, eight points clear of relegation, in a season delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic – announced it had gone into administration as Next Leader Fund had refused to invest promised money.^[45] The insolvency left Wigan facing a 12-point deduction; the sanction would be applied at the end of the 2019–20 season if the club finished outside the bottom three after 46 games.^[46] Wigan MP Lisa Nandy and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham wrote a joint letter to Parry calling for an investigation into the club's takeover. Players had not been paid and there was talk of club staff being made redundant and of players being offered for sale, they said.^[47] Wigan's supporters club also called for an investigation and for financial support from the EFL;^[48] supporters, backed by Nandy, later launched an online petition to try to trigger a parliamentary debate around the EFL's owners' and directors' test.^[49]

On 7 July, 75 (approximately half) of the club's non-playing staff were made redundant by the administrators.^[50]

Meanwhile, on 7 July 2020 the club had appealed against the 12-point deduction imposed by the EFL for entering administration.^[50][51] On 14 July, Wigan recorded their biggest League victory, beating Hull City 8–0.^[52] This, combined with other results, meant Wigan would not finish in the relegation places, so the 12-point deduction would be applied at the end of the current season with the relegation confirmed on 4 August.^[53][54]

On 17 August 2020, it was reported that Au Yeung Wai Kay, the club's owner, had, on 23 June, asked Begbies Traynor about putting it into administration before completing his takeover.^[55] Wigan supporters began a fund-raising effort,^[56] initially raising £500,000 to help secure the club's future,^[57] and then raising £200,000 more.^[58]

Administrators had been confident a sale would be agreed by their deadline,^[59] but later revised their opinion.^[57]

By early March 2021, the administrators were in advanced talks with a consortium, Phoenix 2021 Ltd, led by Bahrain businessmen Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi and Talal Mubarak al-Hammad,^[60] which was confirmed officially on 30 March.^[61] In May, the former administrators repaid £171,000 raised by supporters to keep the club going when it first went into administration.^[62]

The club finished the 2020–21 season in 20th position, one point above the relegation places.^[63] Wigan Athletic won the League One title under Leam Richardson in the following season, earning promotion back to the Championship after a final day 3–0 victory at Shrewsbury Town.^[64]

On 7 March 2023, Wigan reported a £7.7m loss for the financial year to June 2022.^[65] Four days later, Wigan released a statement saying there would be a temporary delay in meeting wage obligations due to liquidity issues; the EFL was aware of the situation^[66] and on 20 March 2023, bottom-of-the-table Wigan were docked three points for failing to pay players, having had a previous EFL sanction for non-payment suspended.^[67] At the end of the 2022–23 season, they were relegated from the Championship.^[68]

In late May 2023, Wigan were hit with two further points deductions and would therefore start its next season with minus eight points. On 12 June, HMRC lodged a winding-up petition over unpaid tax.^[69] On 14 June 2023, Wigan-born billionaire and Wigan Warriors RLFC co-owner Mike Danson bought the club.^[70]

Stadium

Main article: DW Stadium

 

Warm-up at the DW Stadium.

Wigan Athletic's stadium is the 25,138 capacity The Brick Community Stadium, part of the Robin Park complex in Wigan. It has been the club's home since the 1999–2000 season. Wigan Athletic owns the stadium, but leases the ground to rugby league team Wigan Warriors.^[71] The stadium cost £30 million to construct. Previously, home games were played at Springfield Park, the former home of Wigan Borough, which was demolished in June 1999; it is now the site of a housing development. The record attendance at The Brick Community Stadium (then known as the JJB Stadium) for Wigan Athletic is 25,133 for a game against Manchester United on 11 May 2008 – the final match of the 2007–08 season.

The stadium, initially known as the JJB Stadium for sponsorship reasons, was the fourth attempt at re-development/re-location for Wigan Athletic, the first coming in 1986 when then-chairman Bill Kenyon revealed plans for a 15,000 all-seater development at Springfield Park including a hotel and shopping facilities. The club was to play at the nearby Woodhouse Stadium (formerly Wigan Municipal Stadium – now demolished) while the building work took place. In 1990, Kenyon submitted his second scheme which would cost £3m, hold 12–15,000 fans and involved moving the pitch nearer to the car park. Neither efforts got past the planning stage. The next chairman, Stephen Gage, spent most of 1993 and 1994 trying to relocate the Latics to the then Robin Park Stadium (now demolished) until his plans were scuppered by Wigan Council when the local council announced plans for their own ground involving Wigan Warriors. Gage finally admitted defeat when he sold the Latics to Dave Whelan on 27 February 1995 for around £1m.

Plans for the JJB Stadium were first published in 1997. Contracts for the new stadium were signed in late 1997 and work began immediately. Originally the ground was to be built for both Wigan Athletic and Orrell R.U.F.C., as grants were only available for multi-use stadia at that time. Wigan Warriors did not figure in the equation until Whelan bought the rugby league club some 12 months later after protracted negotiations with the directors of the rugby league club. The modern all-seater stadium was officially opened on 4 August 1999. Its inauguration was marked with a friendly between Wigan and neighbours Manchester United, who were then reigning European Champions, with Alex Ferguson officially opening the stadium. However, Wigan Athletic hosted Morecambe three days earlier on 1 August as a dress rehearsal for the official opening against Manchester United. The game was played during a violent electrical storm and torrential rain, even so, 4,020 supporters attended and the game ended in a goalless draw. The first competitive football match took place on 7 August 1999, with Wigan Athletic facing Scunthorpe United in a Division 2 match. Simon Haworth scored twice, including the first competitive goal at the new stadium, as Athletic won 3–0.

On 7 March 2005 Greater Manchester Police announced that it would stop policing Wigan Athletic matches at the stadium from 2 April. This move left Wigan Athletic facing the prospect of playing their home games in the Premier League in an empty stadium, so they paid the money they owed to the police. The club appealed against the payments in court and won, with the claims expected to earn the club around £37,000.^[72]

On 25 March 2009 it was announced that Wigan Athletic would change the name of their stadium to The DW Stadium, after chairman Dave Whelan's commercial venture, DW Sports Fitness.^[73] For 2013–14 Europa League fixtures held at the stadium, the ground was known as The Wigan Athletic Stadium. From 13 May 2024, the stadium was renamed the The Brick Community Stadium, in partnership with a local Wigan charity, The Brick, which works to address poverty and homelessness. The name will remain in place until the end of 2025 while Wigan Athletic and Wigan Warriors secure a long-term commercial stadium partner for 2026 and beyond.^[74]

Supporters

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wigan Athletic F.C. kits.

Wigan Athletic Official Supporters Club (formerly known as Wigan Athletic Supporters Travel Club) is the official supporters' association of Wigan Athletic Football Club. The supporters club are a non-profit organisation run by volunteers and meet before home matches in the South Stand Bar.

The Latics' most vocal supporters can be found in the East Stand of The Brick Community Stadium^{[citation needed]} which houses up to 8,206 fans^[75] The South Stand of the ground is the family stand.

A long-standing song sung by fans of the club is "You Are My Sunshine".^[76] In more recent times, "I'm a Believer",^[77] the Hokey cokey, "We Built This City"^[78] and "Gold" are among some of the songs that have been adapted by Wigan supporters.^[79]

The club has one unofficial fanzine, The Mudhutter,^[80] which is released between 5 and 6 times during the season.

Resulting from a number of incidents at Latics matches where smoke bombs were used by fans (resulting in 17 banning orders as a result of one fixture), several club statements were issued^[81] and police presence was increased at some matches. Data from the UK Football Policing Unit found that Wigan Athletic along with Everton and Manchester United had the highest number of incidents involving pyrotechnics.^[82]

Wigan's return to the Championship saw an average away following of over 1,200.^{[citation needed]} This figure did not include Europa League, Community Shield, League Cup^[83] and FA Cup fixtures,^[84] where on average supporters turned up in greater numbers.

In 2013, the club sold out their 25,000 allocation for the FA Cup final and sold 20,000 tickets for the FA Cup semi-final. A total of 5,500 was also sold for the FA Community Shield in the same year.

In 2014, hundreds of fans took part in a charity walk from Wigan to Bolton in aid of local charity Joseph's Goal.^[85] Joseph was Wigan's mascot in the 2013 FA Cup final, led out by captain Emmerson Boyce.

On Boxing Day, over the years many fans have chosen to attend Wigan Athletic's match in fancy dress. This is particularly prominent with away fixtures on that day where the fans are known as the 'Banana Army'.^[86] However, on Boxing Day in 2014 a boycott of the club's fixture against Leeds United was ordered by some supporters due to the ticket prices for the match at Elland Road. Around 750 away fans attended the match.^[87]

During the 2014–15 season, a Fan Advisory Board (FAB) was set up by the club to allow supporters of Wigan Athletic to have a greater say on any issues they may have. The board meets every month to six weeks with the first meeting having taken place in November 2014.^[88]

Mascot

In August 2019, the club announced that a giant pie, called Crusty, would serve as the team's new mascot for the 2019–20 season. Crusty The Pie was chosen following a competition in which more than 90 primary schools were invited to submit ideas, with over half of the entries opting for a pie.^[89]

Rivalries

Since Wigan Athletic's admission to the Football League in 1978, the club has built up several rivalries, mainly with Bolton Wanderers, the club's primary derby match.

One rivalry that has arisen in recent years has been that with Manchester City,^[90] since the first time they met in the Second Division in 1998, the season in which City gained passage to the 1999 Division Two play-off final through the “Hand of Goat”.^[a] Wigan met City in the 2013 FA Cup final and beat them 1–0. Since then, City have failed to beat Wigan in the competition; losing 2–1 at the Etihad in the 2013–14 FA Cup quarter-final^[92] and, in February 2018, losing 1–0 with third tier Wigan beating eventual Premier League champions City with a Will Grigg goal.^[93]

Wigan also have other local rivalries with Preston North End, Blackburn Rovers,^[94] Oldham Athletic,^[95] Blackpool and Rochdale.

One of the club's longest and recently forgotten rivalries was with nearby Lancashire based club Chorley, although the two clubs have not played a league game since 1971 when they were in the Northern Premier League. The last time Wigan played Chorley was in the first round of the FA Cup in 2020, with non-League Chorley beating an administration-stricken Wigan 3–2 after extra-time.^[96]

European record

Wigan's victory in the 2013 FA Cup final qualified them for European football for the first and only time, earning them an automatic place in the group stage of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League.

Season	Competition	Round	Opponents	Home	Away	Group position
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	Group stage	Maribor	3–1	1–2	4th
			Rubin Kazan	1–1	0–1
			Zulte Waregem	1–2	0–0

Players

First team

As of 10 May 2024^[97]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   ENG Sam Tickle 5 DF   ENG Steven Sessegnon 6 DF   ENG Charlie Hughes 7 DF   ENG Sean Clare 8 MF   ENG Matt Smith 10 MF   NOR Thelo Aasgaard 14 MF   NIR Jordan Jones 15 DF   SCO Jason Kerr

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF   ENG Jonny Smith 20 MF   ENG Callum McManaman 21 MF   WAL Scott Smith 22 FW   ENG Chris Sze 25 FW   ENG Josh Stones 26 MF   IRL Babajide Adeeko 33 FW   ENG Luke Brennan

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 31 DF   ENG James Carragher (at Inverness Caledonian Thistle until June 2024) 34 DF   SCO Luke Robinson (at St. Johnstone until June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player 41 FW   ENG Joe Adams (at Morecambe until June 2024) 42 MF   ENG Harry McHugh (at Ayr United until June 2024)

Under 21s

As of 07 February 2024^[97]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 32 MF   SOM Abdi Sharif 35 DF   ENG Kieran Lloyd 36 FW   ENG Youssef Chentouf 37 DF   USA Ethan Mitchell 38 FW   ENG Joe Rodwell-Grant 40 GK   ENG Tom Watson

No. Pos. Nation Player 43 DF   ENG Dylan Dwyer 44 DF   ENG Jack Reilly 45 DF   ENG Kai Payne 50 GK   ENG Matthew Wonnacott 51 GK   ENG Matthew Corran

Club officials

Board

As of 5 September 2023^[98]

• Owner: Mike Danson
• Chairman: Ben Goodburn
• Director: Lucas Danson
• Sporting director: Gregor Rioch
• Life president: Dave Whelan
• Honorary president: Brenda Spencer

Coaching and medical staff

As of 5 September 2023^[98]

• Manager: Shaun Maloney
• Assistant manager: Graham Barrow
• First team coach: Max Rogers
• Goalkeeping coach: Jack Cudworth
• Club doctor: Dr Jonathan Tobin
• Kitman: Naz Ali
• Academy manager: Jake Campbell
• Under 21s manager: Stephen Crainey
• Under 18s manager: Peter Murphy

Notable former players

Main article: List of Wigan Athletic F.C. players

Player of the Year

Main article: List of Wigan Athletic F.C. records and statistics § Player of the Year

Managers

As listed on the official Wigan Athletic website.^[99]

Period Manager 1932–37   Charlie Spencer 1946–47   Jimmy Milne 1949–52   Bob Pryde 1952–54   Ted Goodier 1954–55   Walter Crook 1955–56   Ron Suart 1956   Billy Cook 1957   Sam Barkas 1957–58   Trevor Hitchen 1958–59   Malcolm Barrass

Period Manager 1959 Jimmy Shirley 1959–60 Pat Murphy 1960   Allenby Chilton 1961–63   Johnny Ball 1963–66   Allan Brown 1966–67 Alf Craig 1967–68   Harry Leyland 1968 Alan Saunders 1968–70   Ian McNeill 1970–72   Gordon Milne

Period Manager 1972–74   Les Rigby 1974–76   Brian Tiler 1976–81   Ian McNeill 1981–83   Larry Lloyd 1983–85   Harry McNally 1985–86   Bryan Hamilton 1986–89   Ray Mathias 1989–93   Bryan Hamilton 1993   Dave Philpotts 1993–94   Kenny Swain

Period Manager 1994–95   Graham Barrow 1995–98   John Deehan 1998–99   Ray Mathias 1999–2000   John Benson 2000–01   Bruce Rioch 2001   Steve Bruce 2001–07   Paul Jewell 2007   Chris Hutchings 2007–09   Steve Bruce 2009–13   Roberto Martínez

Period Manager 2013   Owen Coyle 2013–14   Uwe Rösler 2014–15   Malky Mackay 2015–16   Gary Caldwell 2016–17   Warren Joyce 2017–20   Paul Cook 2020   John Sheridan 2021–22   Leam Richardson 2022–23   Kolo Touré 2023–present   Shaun Maloney

Records

Main article: List of Wigan Athletic F.C. records and statistics

 

Antonio Valencia's £15 million sale to Manchester United in 2009 is the largest transfer involving Wigan Athletic.

• Highest league position: 10th in the Premier League (2005–06)^[100]
• Record League victory: 8–0 vs Hull City (Championship, 14 July 2020)^[52]
• Record attendance at The Brick Community Stadium: 25,133 v Manchester United, Premier League (11 May 2008)^[100]
• Record Attendance Springfield Park (Wigan): 27,526, vs Hereford United F.C., FA Cup (1953)^[101]
• Most League appearances: 317, Kevin Langley (1981–1986, 1990–1994)^[100]
• Most League goals scored: total, 70, Andy Liddell (1998–2003)^[100]
• Most League goals scored, season: 31, Graeme Jones (1996–97)^[100]
• Record consecutive league appearances: 123, Jimmy Bullard (January 2003 – November 2005)^[100]
• Record transfer fee paid: Charles N'Zogbia, £7 million, from Newcastle United, February 2009^[100]
• Record transfer fee received: Antonio Valencia, £15 million, to Manchester United, June 2009^[100]

Honours

Further information: List of Wigan Athletic F.C. seasons

Source:^[100]

League

• Championship (level 2)
  • Runners-up: 2004–05
• Second Division / League One (level 3)
  • Champions: 2002–03, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2021–22
• Fourth Division / Third Division (level 4)
  • Champions: 1996–97
  • Promoted: 1981–82
• Northern Premier League (level 5)
  • Champions: 1970–71, 1974–75
• Lancashire Combination
  • Champions: 1947–48, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1953–54
• Northern Floodlit League
  • Champions: 1966–67
• Cheshire League
  • Champions: 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1964–65

Cup

• FA Cup
  • Winners: 2012–13
• League Cup
  • Runners-up: 2005–06
• FA Community Shield
  • Runners-up: 2013
• Associate Members' Cup / Football League Trophy
  • Winners: 1984–85, 1998–99
• FA Trophy
  • Runners-up: 1972–73
• Northern Premier League Shield
  • Winners: 1972–73, 1973–74, 1975–76
• Northern Premier League Challenge Cup
  • Winners: 1971–72

Notes and references

1. Manchester City striker Shaun Goater appeared to score with his arm but, despite Wigan protests, the goal was allowed to stand. Goater later said the ball had struck his chest.^[91] The 'Hand of Goat' alludes to 'the hand of God', a goal scored by Diego Maradona against England in the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

1. . Wigan Athletic F.C. Archived from the original on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
2. "Wigan Athletic". Historical Football Kits. from the original on 9 September 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
3. Rundle, Richard. "Wigan Athletic". Football Club History Database. from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
4. . Archived from the original on 6 February 2015.
5. A History of Football in Wigan 29 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine wafc.co.uk
6. . Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
7. The Three Amigos 7 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine Ultimate Wigan Athletic Website (on Tiscali)
8. "Wigan 0–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 14 August 2005. from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
9. "Man Utd ease to Carling Cup glory". BBC Sport. 26 February 2006. from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
10. "Gerrard named player of the year". BBC Sport. 23 April 2006. from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
11. "Bruce named as Sunderland manager". BBC Sport. 3 June 2009. from the original on 6 June 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
12. . ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 30 June 2009. Archived from the original on 7 July 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
13. "Wigan finally land boss Martinez". BBC Sport. 15 June 2009. from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
14. "Tottenham 9–1 Wigan". BBC. 22 November 2009. from the original on 23 November 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
15. "Chelsea 8–0 Wigan". BBC. 9 May 2010. from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
16. Wigan Athletic 0–4 Manchester United 28 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine Club Call, 26 February 2011
17. "Rodallega saves Wigan". ESPN Soccernet. 22 May 2011. from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
18. "FA Cup final: Manchester City v Wigan – LIVE!". The Independent. 11 May 2013. from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
19. "Whelan 'shocked' by watching Wigan in Europe". UEFA.com. 1 November 2013. from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
20. "Roberto Martinez: Everton appoint former Wigan manager". BBC Sport. 5 June 2013. from the original on 24 September 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
21. "Owen Coyle: Wigan Athletic name former Bolton boss as manager". BBC Sport. 14 June 2013. from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
22. "Owen Coyle: Wigan manager leaves by mutual agreement". BBC Sport. 2 December 2013. from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
23. "NK Maribor v Wigan". BBC Sport. 12 December 2013. from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
24. "QPR 2–1 Wigan". BBC Sport. 12 May 2014. from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
25. "Uwe Rosler: Wigan sack manager after poor start to season". BBC Sport. 13 November 2014. from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
26. "Dave Whelan: Wigan Athletic chairman resigns after 20 years". BBC Sport. 3 March 2015. from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
27. "Wigan Athletic: Gary Caldwell named manager". BBC Sport. 7 April 2015. from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
28. "Rotherham 2–1 Reading". BBC Sport. 28 April 2015. from the original on 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
29. "Will Grigg: Wigan Athletic sign Brentford striker". BBC. from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
30. "Reece James joins Wigan Athletic from Manchester United". Wigan Athletic. from the original on 15 December 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
31. "Wigan Athletic results 2015/16". World Football. from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
32. "League One Top Scorers 2015–16". BBC Sport. 8 May 2016. from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
33. "Gary Caldwell: Wigan Athletic manager sacked after 18 months in charge". BBC Sport. 25 October 2016. from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
34. "Warren Joyce: Wigan Athletic appoint Man Utd U21 boss as manager". BBC Sport. 2 November 2016. from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
35. "Warren Joyce: Wigan Athletic part company after four months". BBC Sport. 13 March 2017. from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
36. "Barrow leaves Latics". Wigan Today. from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
37. "Paul Cook: Wigan Athletic appoint Portsmouth boss as new manager". BBC Sport. 31 May 2017. from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
38. Brewin, John (21 April 2018). "Wigan and Luton promoted as Macclesfield return to Football League". The Guardian. from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
39. Reddy, Luke (19 February 2018). "Wigan Athletic 1–0 Manchester City". BBC Sport. from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
40. Sanders, Emma (18 March 2018). "Wigan Athletic 0–2 Southampton". BBC Sport. from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
41. "Wigan Athletic: Chinese company IEC plans to spend once £22m deal completed". BBC Sport. 21 May 2018. from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
42. "POLL RESULTS OF THE EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING" (PDF). International Entertainment Corporation. 2 November 2018. (PDF) from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
43. "Wigan 1 Millwall 0". BBC Sport. 5 May 2019. from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
44. "CLUB STATEMENT NEXT LEADER FUND L.P. PURCHASE MAJORITY SHAREHOLDINGS OF WIGAN ATHLETIC". Wigan Athletic. 4 June 2020. from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
45. Bounds, Andy (1 July 2020). "Wigan Athletic falls into administration". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
46. Stone, Simon (1 July 2020). "Wigan Athletic: Championship club goes into administration". BBC Sport. from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
47. "Wigan Athletic: Mayor Andy Burnham and MP Lisa Nandy call for takeover investigation". BBC Sport. 4 July 2020. from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
48. Stone, Simon (6 July 2020). "Wigan Athletic fans call for EFL support and investigation". BBC Sport. from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
49. Stone, Simon (21 July 2020). "Wigan Athletic supporters launch petition to trigger parliamentary debate". BBC Sport. from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
50. Stone, Simon (7 July 2020). "Wigan Athletic appeal against points deduction as staff are made redundant". BBC Sport. BBC. from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
51. Critchley, Mark (7 July 2020). "Wigan Athletic: Rugby league Wigan Warriors announce intention to buy neighbours". Independent. from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
52. "Wigan Athletic 8–0 Hull City". BBC Sport. 14 July 2020. from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
53. Stone, Simon (16 July 2020). "Wigan Athletic: New owners could be confirmed by end of July". BBC Sport. from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
54. "Wigan Athletic relegated after losing appeal against 12-point penalty". BBC Sport. 4 August 2020. from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
55. Stone, Simon (17 August 2020). "Wigan Athletic owner enquired about administration before takeover". BBC Sport. from the original on 17 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
56. "Wigan Athletic Supporters Club aims to raise £500,000 to secure Latics' future". BBC Sport. 26 August 2020. from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
57. "Wigan Athletic: Supporters reach £500,000 target with a day to spare". BBC Sport. 30 August 2020. from the original on 3 September 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
58. "Wigan Athletic: Administrators claim bidder pulled out due to news of lower bid on social media". BBC Sport. 21 September 2020. from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
59. "Wigan Athletic: Administrators confident a deal to sell club can go ahead". BBC Sport. 27 August 2020. from the original on 3 September 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
60. "Wigan Athletic: Administrators in advanced talks with Talal Mubarak al-Hammad". BBC Sport. 9 March 2021. from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
61. "Wigan Athletic: Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi takeover of League One strugglers completed". BBC Sport. 30 March 2021. from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
62. Stone, Simon (4 May 2021). "Wigan Athletic: Fans repaid money raised when club was in administration". BBC Sport. from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
63. Ben Fisher (13 August 2021). "Relief replaced by optimism at Wigan after perils of administration". The Guardian. from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
64. "Shrewsbury Town 0–3 Wigan Athletic: Latics promoted as League One winners". BBC Sport. 30 April 2022. from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
65. "Wigan Athletic: Championship side report £7.7m losses for financial year up to June 2022". BBC Sport. 7 March 2023. from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
66. "Club Statement | Staff and Player Wages". Wigan Athletic FC. 10 March 2023. from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
67. "Wigan Athletic docked three points by EFL for failing to pay players". BBC Sport. 20 March 2023. from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
68. "Reading 1–1 Wigan Athletic". BBC Sport. 29 April 2023. from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
69. Stone, Simon (12 June 2023). "Wigan Athletic: HMRC lodges winding-up petition against League One club". BBC Sport. from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
70. "Wigan Athletic: Local businessman Mike Danson takes over at troubled club". BBC Sport. 14 June 2023. from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
71. Andrews, Phil (29 November 1999). "Football: Wigan building brighter future on solid ground". The Independent. London. from the original on 29 August 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
72. "Police match cost appeal success". BBC News. 19 December 2008. from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
73. "Latics reveal name change" 27 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine football.co.uk
74. "DW Stadium to become The Brick Community Stadium". Wigan Warriors. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
75. . Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
76. "Roberto Martinez leads Wigan FA Cup celebrations". BBC Sport. 20 May 2013. from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
77. Premiership Signatures (13 May 2013). "Wigan Athletic fans singing 'I'm a believer' at the DW Stad". from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2016 – via YouTube.
78. gmarrs (16 February 2014). "We beat Man City, We beat Man City with a Watson goal!". from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2016 – via YouTube.
79. Simpson, Matt (10 May 2013). . Mancunian Matters. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
80. "The Mudhutter Wigan Athletic Fanzine – The Mudhutter". mudhutter.co.uk. from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
81. "Club statement - Flares and smoke devices". Wigan Athletic. 5 August 2013. from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
82. "Premier League: Banning orders or prison warning for fans with flares". BBC Sport. 31 October 2013. from the original on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
83. Britton, Paul (26 September 2013). "Own goal: Etihad Stadium ticket chaos means fans missed half the game". Manchester Evening News. from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
84. . Wigan Today. 26 February 2014. Archived from the original on 3 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
85. . Wigan Today. 12 February 2014. Archived from the original on 3 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
86. Jones, Ed (18 December 2012). . Wigan Athletic. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
87. . Archived from the original on 13 December 2014.
88. SLO, Wigan Athletic. "Are you interested in joining the Wigan Athletic Supporter Liaison Officers Latics Fan Advisory Board?". from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
89. "'The pies have it!' – Wigan Athletic reveal new mascot". 2 August 2019. from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
90. "The Oldest Enemy – Manchester City 1898". from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
91. Oatway, Caroline (19 May 2020). "Goater: Handball? Never!". ManCity.com. from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
92. Bevan, Chris (9 March 2014). "Manchester City 1–2 Wigan Athletic". BBC Sport. from the original on 7 February 2021.
93. Taylor, Daniel (19 February 2018). "Wigan's Will Grigg stuns Manchester City and ends quadruple dream". The Guardian. from the original on 9 November 2020.
94. "I 'absolutely loved' rivalry with Blackburn Rovers, admits Wigan Athletic chief". from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
95. "Mixed emotions for Dunn after Oldham hold Lancashire rivals Wigan at home". 28 September 2015. from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
96. "FA Cup: Wigan Athletic 2–3 Chorley – non-league side come from 2–0 down to beat 10-man Latics". BBC Sport. 8 November 2020. from the original on 16 November 2020.
97. "Wigan Athletic FC - First Team". Wigan Athletic F.C. from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
98. "Who's Who". Wigan Athletic F.C. from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
99. "A role call of Wigan Athletic managers". Wigan Athletic FC. from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
100. "Honours and Records". Wigan Athletic FC. from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
101. "Wigan Athletic F.C. - Honours and Records". Wigan Athletic F.C. Retrieved 6 February 2024.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wigan Athletic F.C..

• Official website
• Wigan Athletic at Curlie
• Wigan Athletic F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
• . Archived from the original on 14 December 2005. Retrieved 5 December 2005.
• The Springfield Park Memorial