Founded in 1932, they have played at the 25,138-seatBrick Community Stadium since 1999, before which they played atSpringfield Park. Their colours are blue and white stripes, although all-blue shirts have been common throughout the club's history. The club regardsBolton Wanderers as its primary derby rival.
Wigan competed in theCheshire County League for the first nine seasons of the club's existence, winning three league titles before being placed in theLancashire 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 theNorthern Premier League in 1968, the club won two league titles and also reached theFA Trophy final in1973. Wigan was elected to theFootball League in 1978 and was promoted out of theFourth Division in 1981–82. The club won theAssociate Members' Cup in1985, but was relegated back into the fourth tier in 1993. It won theThird Division title in 1996–97, the Football League Trophy in1999 and the Second Division in 2002–03, before securing promotion out of theChampionship in 2004–05.
Wigan lost in theLeague Cup final in2006 and won theFA Cup in 2013, beatingManchester City in thefinal. However, the club was relegated later that year, bringing its eight-season stay in thePremier League to an end. The FA Cup success did, though, gain it a place in theUEFA 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 intoadministration 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 started the 2023–24 League One season with minus eight points.
Wigan Athletic was formed in 1932, following the winding-up ofWigan 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 theCheshire County League following the resignation ofManchester Central. The club had also made the first of many attempts to be admitted into theFootball League, but failed to receive a single vote. On 27 August 1932, Wigan Athletic played their first-ever league game againstPort 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 neighbouringLancashire. In the following season the club won a second league championship and also entered theFA Cup for the first time,[3] defeatingCarlisle 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 theLancashire 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 byWinsford United. The club joined theLancashire Combination, winning the league in their first season.[3] In 1950, Wigan Athletic came close to election toThe Football League, narrowly losing out toScunthorpe United andShrewsbury 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 againstHereford 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 againstFirst Division sideNewcastle United. Wigan Athletic held their top-flight opponents to a 2–2 draw atSt 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 theNorthern Premier League. In winning the league title in 1970–71, the leading goalscorer, with 42 goals including seven hat-tricks, wasGeoff Davies, who scored 28 goals in the following 1971–72 season. The team played atWembley Stadium for the first time in the1973 FA Trophy final, where they lost 2–1 toScarborough. After 34 failed election attempts, including one controversial but headline-making application in 1972 to join theScottish League Second Division, Wigan Athletic was elected to the Football League in 1978.
Wigan Athletic finished in second place in theNorthern Premier League in the1977–78 season, behind winnersBoston United. But as Boston's ground and facilities did not meetthe Football League criteria for a League club, whereasSpringfield Park did, Wigan Athletic were put forward forelection 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 theold 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 managerIan McNeill shortly before the end of the season. They gained their first Football League promotion under the management of formerLiverpool playerLarry 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 byHarry 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, withTranmere managerBryan 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 theFreight Rover Trophy. They were beaten in the Northern final of the same competition the following season byBolton 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 theplay-off system for promotion and relegation. However, Hamilton's feats attracted the attention of First DivisionLeicester 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 toSwindon, 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 byKenny 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 theFootball 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 playerGraham 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.
Local entrepreneurDave Whelan acquired the club in 1995, providing funds to move into the JJB Stadium, then renamed theDW Stadium after Whelan's sports shops, DW Sports.
In February 1995, local millionaire and owner ofJJB Sports,Dave Whelan purchased the club. Through Whelan's business connections in Spain he attracted three Spaniards to the club –Roberto Martínez,Isidro Díaz, andJesus 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 byJohn Deehan, who replaced Barrow as manager during the 1995–96 season following a 6–2 home defeat toMansfield 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-upFulham, 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 becomeSteve Bruce's assistant atSheffield United. He was succeeded byRay Mathias, who returned for his third stint as Wigan Athletic manager. Mathias' team won theFootball League Trophy in 1999, beatingMillwall 1–0 atWembley Stadium. The same season the Latics reached the Division Two play-offs, losing 2–1 on aggregate toManchester City. Mathias was sacked, and replaced byJohn 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 lastDivision Two play-off final played at the oldWembley Stadium, Wigan lost 3–2 after extra time toGillingham.
Benson moved 'upstairs' to the new post of director of football in the summer of 2000, when formerArsenal managerBruce 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 stalwartColin Greenall, before the surprise appointment ofSteve 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 againstReading, and Bruce left forCrystal Palace.
In the summer of 2001, the former Latics forwardPaul Jewell took over as manager following an unsuccessful spell atSheffield Wednesday. His first season in charge saw mixed results and an embarrassing defeat to non-LeagueCanvey Island in theFA 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 theLeague Cup, beatingPremier League opponentsWest Brom,Manchester City andFulham 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 signingNathan 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 theEnglish Football League for the first time in their history.
After losing their firstDivision 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 the team win only three of their last 10 games to finish seventh inDivision One – a last-minute goal byWest Ham'sBrian Deane in the final game of the season saw the Latics drop out of the play-off places in favour of eventual play-off winnersCrystal Palace.
Hoping to build on the previous season's disappointing finish, the Latics went one better than2003–04 by remaining unbeaten for the first 17 games of the2004–05 season. Along withSunderland andIpswich, 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 againstReading – who themselves needed to win to finish in sixth place – to beat Ipswich to the last automatic promotion spot. A 3–1 victory at theJJB Stadium earned Wigan Athletic promotion to the top division ofEnglish football for the first time in their 73-year history.
Premier League years and FA Cup victory: 2005–2013
The club's first Premier League game was a sell-out at the JJB Stadium against holdersChelsea, a 1–0 defeat after an injury-time winner byHernán 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 theFootball League Cup, with Wigan reaching their first ever major cup final after defeatingArsenal onaway goals in the semi-final. In thefinal, Wigan were defeated 4–0 by neighboursManchester United.[9] Wigan Athletic eventually finished the season in 10th place, which remains the club's highest ever league placing. DefenderPascal Chimbonda was also included in the 2005–06 PFA Team of the Season,[10] capping off his season by being picked for theFrance squad for the2006 FIFA World Cup.
During the close season, Wigan sold many players who had starred in their first season in the Premier League, such asJimmy Bullard,Jason Roberts andStéphane Henchoz, while bringing in replacements includingEmile Heskey,Denny Landzaat,Chris Kirkland andAntonio Valencia. After a mid-table start to the2006–07 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 againstSheffield United, which kept them up at the expense of their opponents. The following day,Paul Jewell unexpectedly resigned as manager; his assistantChris Hutchings was appointed as his replacement.
Wigan's third Premier League campaign saw changes in the squad, withTitus Bramble,Mario Melchiot,Jason Koumas andMarcus Bent among the players brought in, and Melchiot was installed as the new club captain. The 2007–08 season began well for Wigan, withEmile Heskey recalled to theEngland 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 Steve Bruce, who saved the club from relegation.
In the summer of 2008, Bruce signedLee Cattermole from Middlesbrough for £3.5 million, and Egyptian strikerAmr 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 andEmile Heskey, toTottenham andAston 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 atSunderland.[11] July saw the departure of another key first team memberAntonio Valencia toManchester United.[12] Before the 2009–10 season got underway, Cattermole left for Sunderland.
Wigan appointedRoberto Martínez, then manager ofSwansea City, as manager prior to the2009–10 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 fromTitus Bramble,Hugo Rodallega andPaul 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 atTottenham 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 the2010–11 season, Wigan fell to the bottom of the league by the end of February, following a 4–0 defeat toManchester 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, defeatingStoke City at theBritannia Stadium after a goal fromHugo Rodallega.[17] On 7 May 2012, they simultaneously secured their Premier League status and relegated Blackburn Rovers with a 1–0 victory atEwood Park.
Members of the Wigan Athletic board holding theFA Cup trophy following the club's victory at the2013 final
In 2013, after beatingEverton in the quarter-final andMillwall in the semi-final, Wigan reached theFA Cup final for the first time in their history. Inthe final, played atWembley Stadium, Wigan beatManchester City 1–0, with a goal byBen Watson scored in injury time.[18]Wigan's first ever major trophy also gave the club a place in the group stage of theEuropa 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 forEverton on a four-year deal.[20]
Owen Coyle became the new manager of Wigan Athletic when Martínez left forEverton.[21] The team lost to Manchester United in theCommunity Shield. Coyle left by mutual agreement on 2 December 2013 after a poor start to the season,[22] and was replaced byUwe Rösler. On 12 December in his first match, Wigan were eliminated from the Europa League group stage after defeat toMaribor.[23] On 9 March 2014 Wigan beatManchester City to reach the semi-final of the FA Cup at Wembley for the second successive year, where they playedArsenal, and lost 4–2 on penalties after normal time andextra time resulted in a 1–1 draw. After finishing 5th in the Championship, Wigan lost their play-off semi-final toQueens Park Rangers.[24]
Rösler was sacked in November 2014 with the club in the relegation places,[25] and was replaced byMalky Mackay. Whelan resigned as chairman on 3 March 2015, remaining as owner but handing over the chairmanship to his grandsonDavid Sharpe.[26] The following month, with Wigan in danger of relegation toLeague One, Mackay was sacked and replaced by former Wigan captainGary Caldwell,[27] yet the team ended the season with relegation.[28] The squad changed drastically, including the signings ofWill Grigg fromBrentford andReece James fromManchester 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]
In October 2016, following a poor start to the season, Caldwell was sacked as manager[33] and replaced by Manchester United coachWarren 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 managerGraham Barrow left, ending a 15-year association with the club.[36]Paul Cook, who had just wonLeague Two withPortsmouth, was appointed Wigan manager in June 2017.[37]
In the2017–18 League One season, Wigan finished top winning promotion back to theChampionship. Their promotion was sealed by a 4–0 win againstFleetwood Town.[38] In the2017–18 FA Cup, Wigan beatManchester 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 bySouthampton 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: Since 2020
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 theCOVID-19 pandemic – announced it had gone intoadministration 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 the2019–20 season if the club finished outside the bottom three after 46 games.[46]Wigan MPLisa Nandy andGreater Manchester mayorAndy 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, beatingHull City8–0.[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 byBahrain businessmen Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi andTalal 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 the2020–21 season in 20th position, one point above the relegation places.[63] Wigan Athletic won the League One title underLeam Richardson in the following season, earning promotion back to the Championship after a final day 3–0 victory atShrewsbury 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 and immediately paid all creditors, including staff.[70]
Wigan Athletic's stadium is the 25,138 capacityThe Brick Community Stadium, part of the Robin Park complex in Wigan. It has been the club's home since the1999–2000 season. Wigan Athletic owns the stadium, but leases the ground torugby league teamWigan Warriors.[71] The stadium cost £30 million to construct. Previously, home games were played atSpringfield 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 againstManchester United on 11 May 2008 – the final match of the 2007–08 season.
The stadium, initially known as theJJB 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 andOrrell 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, withAlex Ferguson officially opening the stadium. However, Wigan Athletic hostedMorecambe 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 2005Greater 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 thePremier 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 TheDW Stadium, after chairman Dave Whelan's commercial venture, DW Sports Fitness.[73] For 2013–14Europa League fixtures held at the stadium, the ground was known as The Wigan Athletic Stadium. From 13 May 2024, the stadium was renamedThe 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]
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.
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 captainEmmerson 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]
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]
Since Wigan Athletic's admission to the Football League in 1978, the club has built up several rivalries, mainly withBolton Wanderers, the club's primary derby match. Wigan Athletic have played Bolton on 27 occasions with a win rate of 37%, draw rate of 37% and a loss rate of 26%.[citation needed]
DespiteSt Helens Town being perhaps more local and comparable, one of the club's longest and recently forgotten rivalries was with nearby Lancashire based clubChorley, 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.[92]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
