Wigan Athletic F.C.

History

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 fifth attempt to create a stable professional football club in the town following the demise of 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 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.

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, 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. 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. 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.

Early League years: 1978–1995

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.

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. 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.

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.

Rising through the league: 1995–2005

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. 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.

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 holders Chelsea, a 1–0 defeat after an injury-time winner by Hernán Crespo. 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. 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, 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 Steve 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. July saw the departure of another key first team member Antonio Valencia to Manchester United. Before the 2009–10 season got underway, Cattermole left for Sunderland.

End of the Whelan era: 2013–2018

Owen Coyle became the new manager of Wigan Athletic when Martínez left for Everton. 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, 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. 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.

Rösler was sacked in November 2014 with the club in the relegation places, 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. The following month, with Wigan in danger of relegation to League One, Mackay was sacked and replaced by former Wigan captain Gary Caldwell, yet the team ended the season with relegation. The squad changed drastically, including the signings of Will Grigg from Brentford and Reece James from Manchester United. The side lost only once in 23 matches in the second half of the season and won the division, with Grigg the league's top scorer with 25 goals.

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

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. 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. In the quarter-finals, they were knocked out by Southampton in a 2–0 loss. 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. On 2 November 2018, IEC received shareholder approval to complete the acquisition of the football club, ending 23 years of Whelan family ownership.

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. 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. 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. 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. Wigan's supporters club also called for an investigation and for financial support from the EFL; supporters, backed by Nandy, later launched an online petition to try to trigger a parliamentary debate around the EFL's owners' and directors' test.

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

Meanwhile, on 7 July 2020 the club had appealed against the 12-point deduction imposed by the EFL for entering administration. On 14 July, Wigan recorded their biggest League victory, beating Hull City

8–0. 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.

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. Wigan supporters began a fund-raising effort, initially raising £500,000 to help secure the club's future, and then raising £200,000 more.

Administrators had been confident a sale would be agreed by their deadline, but later revised their opinion.

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. 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.

Supporters

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 which houses up to 8,206 fans 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". In more recent times, "I'm a Believer", the Hokey cokey, "We Built This City" and "Gold" are among some of the songs that have been adapted by Wigan supporters.

The club has one unofficial fanzine, The Mudhutter, 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 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.

Wigan's return to the Championship saw an average away following of over 1,200. This figure did not include Europa League, Community Shield, League Cup and FA Cup fixtures, 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. Joseph was Wigan's mascot in the 2013 FA Cup final, led out by captain Emmerson Boyce.

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.

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, 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". 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 and, in February 2018, losing 1–0 with third tier Wigan beating eventual Premier League champions City with a Will Grigg goal.

Wigan also have other local rivalries with Preston North End, Blackburn Rovers, Stockport Town, Oldham Athletic, Blackpool and Rochdale.

Despite St Helens Town being perhaps more local and comparable, 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.

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.

Players

First team

As of 20 August 2026

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

U21

As of 8 August 2026

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

Out on loan

As of 8 August 2026

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

Club officials

Board

As of 7 August 2026

Owner: Mike Danson

Chairman & Senior Non-Executive Director: Ben Goodburn

Director: Lucas Danson

Chief Executive Officer: Anthony Cole-Johnson

Non-Executive Chair & Honorary President: Brenda Spencer

Managing Director of the Stadium: Neil Russell

Life President: Dave Whelan

Senior Advisor: Graham Barrow

Coaching & Medical Staff

As of 10 July 2026

Head Coach: Gary Caldwell

Assistant Head Coach: Peter Atherton

First Team Coach: David Perkins

First Team Coach: John Welsh

Goalkeeping Coach:

Head of Recruitment: Joe Riley

Lead Analyst: Lauren Jones

First Team Analyst: Sam Riordan

Head of Medical: Joe Maden-Wilkinson

Physiotherapist: Michael McBride

Sports Science: Jack Craigie

Notable former players

Managers

As listed on the official Wigan Athletic website.

Records

Highest league position: 10th in the Premier League (2005–06)

Record League victory: 8–0 vs Hull City (Championship, 14 July 2020)

Record attendance at The Brick Community Stadium: 25,133 v Manchester United, Premier League (11 May 2008)

Record Attendance Springfield Park (Wigan): 27,526, vs Hereford United F.C., FA Cup (1953)

Most League appearances: 317, Kevin Langley (1981–1986, 1990–1994)

Most League goals scored: total, 70, Andy Liddell (1998–2003)

Most League goals scored, season: 31, Graeme Jones (1996–97)

Record consecutive league appearances: 139, Sam Tickle (May 2023 – May 2026)

Record transfer fee paid: Charles N'Zogbia, £7 million, from Newcastle United, February 2009

Record transfer fee received: Antonio Valencia, £15 million, to Manchester United, June 2009

Honours

Source:

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