Wigan Athletic Supporters Fund helps Raise Aspiration and Combat Loneliness

Wigan Athletic Supporters Project to help make a difference to the Wigan Borough thanks to the fundraising efforts of Latics fans. 

Thanks to the efforts of Wigan Athletic supporters last year, many people in the Wigan Borough will benefit from an exciting initiative run by Wigan Athletic Community Trust.

Latics supporters raised a significant sum in the initial ‘Save Wigan Athletic’ Crowdfunder to ensure the Club could complete the 2019/20 season after entering administration.

And following the successful takeover of the Club by Phoenix 2021 Limited, the initial monies raised will be used in part to help reduce social isolation in older people, raise aspirations of young people and provide small grants to junior grassroots football clubs in Wigan.

An initial donation of £156,000 over the next two years will see ‘The Supporters Project’ – which is also backed by Wigan Council – provide key areas of support to many areas of the local community through three programmes chosen by Latics fans.

Supporters who donated to the Crowdfunder were given the opportunity to decide where their funds would be channelled towards and supporters chose to support programmes operated by Wigan Athletic Community Trust, including:

• Support for older people in Wigan through a programme targeted at reducing social isolation.
• Raise the aspirations of young people aged 14-19 year olds by providing high quality work placements to disadvantaged students in local schools.
• Provide small grants to local junior grassroots football clubs in Wigan.

The project was officially launched at the DW Stadium on Thursday with Latics manager Leam Richardson and midfielder Max Power in attendance to offer their support, with children from Springfield Park Youth Football Club receiving one of the first £1,000 grants from the project.

Speaking about the Supporters Project at the launch, the Chair of Wigan Athletic Supporters Club Caroline Molyneux said:

“It is wonderful to launch the Wigan Athletic Supporters Project following consultation with our supporters. The money that was raised by Wigan Athletic supporters to help complete the 2019/20 season is now going to help people who really need that support in the Wigan Borough, whether that be junior grassroots football teams or people aged over 55 who are at risk of social isolation through the Extra Time activities at the Stadium.

“Close to my heart is the Secondary School project, as a teacher myself I know that through the pandemic many of our teenagers in the Borough have been affected, so this project will really benefit many of the them. What happened to Wigan Athletic over the last 12-18 months will never be forgotten, though we have come out of this moving in a positive direction both on and off the pitch and the Supporters Project will be a legacy of the incredible efforts of Wigan Athletic supporters during that period.”