Compared to many clubs we have profiled, Wigan is quite young. They go back “only” as far as 1932, when the club emerged from a series of other local clubs from the previous 40 years. The town was always better known for its rugby club—and indeed the one athlete honored by a statue in the area is a rugby player—but the Latics were considered one…

There are so many clubs around (see “Make Manchester Your Base”) that Wigan—despite having a short history with all of them—consider Bolton Wanderers (especially), Preston North End, Oldham Athletic, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley, and Rochdale as…

Three seasons ago, there was a Wigan Athletic Ladies in the North West Women’s Regional League, but the website has been taken down and there’s no reference to them on the men’s club’s

In the pregame buildup, you’ll hear The Monkees’ “I’m a Believer.” This comes from the 2012-13 season, when the football team’s success in the Cup and the rugby team’s claiming two trophies led to a citywide “Believe in Wigan”

The DW Stadium is pretty much the epitome of the modern English football stadium: clean, comfortable, without much character, and next to a shopping center. It holds 25,138—a little odd since the official record crowd is five people fewer than that. The away fans will be in the North Stand, and the South Stand is the family section. The rowdy…

GETTING THERE: Both Wigan stations—for some reason, a town of 100,000 people has two train stations across the street from each other—are about a 30-minute walk from the stadium. From the stop right in front of North Western station, take bus 628 or 641 to Montrose Avenue, and then follow the colors. Blue Star Taxis has an office on the main…