At this time, seven years ago, Wigan Athletic were still basking in the bright silver limelight cast by their newly-acquired FA Cup trophy.
Their shock 1-0 victory over the champions of England had been one of the greatest final upsets in the history of the competition – with Ben Watson’s last-gasp header sealing the Latics’ first major accolade in 80 years and plunging the tiny Greater Manchester town into delirium.
The celebrations, quite rightly, went on for weeks.
Locals knew how to throw a football party. By 2013, scenes of intense jubilation among supporters had become something of a semi-common occurrence.
Wigan, traditionally known as a rugby league town, had succumbed to football fever during their epic journey to the top tier in the noughties – and their FA Cup triumph ensured the club would forever hold a place in the history books.
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But today, Wigan fans aren’t dreaming of silverware. They’re not even thinking about winning the next match.
On July 1, news rolled in that the Latics had entered administration – with an imminent 12-point deduction from the EFL all set to send them bottom of the Championship.
A series of financial issues had been pushing the club to the brink for several months, and coronavirus was the final nudge needed to knock them off the cliff.
Wigan’s money woes were well-known, but the announcement still came as something of a shock to many in the footballing world.
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Only last month, Hong Kong businessman Wai Kay Au Yeung, of Next Leader Fund (NLF), took full control of the club – with executive chairman Darren Royal claiming this would “negate some of the immediate” damages caused by the pandemic.
The owners passed the EFL’s test and takeover process – which ascertains whether the buyer can financially support a club.
But within weeks, the survival of Wigan Athletic has been left on a knife edge.
Board members are dealing with administrators at Begbies Traynor as we speak – scrambling to find interested parties to save the side.
David Sharpe, Paul Sharpe and David Whelan holding FA Cup / Wikipedia
Wigan enjoyed a fairytale rise to the golden land of the Premier League under former owner Dave Whelan, with the tactical shrewdness of manager Paul Jewell fuelling the firepower of strikers Nathan Ellington and Jason Roberts to propel the Latics into the Premier League.
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Defying expectations to finish 10th in their debut season, Wigan would remain part of British football’s 20 elite clubs for eight seasons – stunning City in 2013 to lift the FA Cup against all odds and competing in Europe the following year as a result.
The Latics have yo-yo’ed between the second and third rung of the EFL in the past decade, with Whelan stepping down as owner in 2015 and handing the reins to his grandson, David Sharpe.
International Entertainment Corporation bought the club in 2018, but sold off their shares to NLF a little over one month ago.
Wigan’s recent past has been remarkable, but for now, their future appears uncertain.
Fans will be under no illusions as to the gravity of the situation, with the tragic plight of not-too-distant neighbours, Bury, still fresh in the minds of football followers across the country.
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Nonetheless, as history has taught us, these next few weeks will see rivalries set aside to provide Wigan with the support they need.
The whole of Greater Manchester – even Manchester City fans who had their hearts broken by the bulge of the net at Wembley in 2013 – will be behind them.
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The Manchester 24 Hour Run raises over £70,000 for the region’s homeless community
Danny Jones
The numbers are in for the 2025 Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness, which saw hordes of runners take over the city centre to generate money for the ever-crucial cause.
Having set an ambitious target of £50,000, not only did they manage to achieve their goal, they absolutely SMASHED it, totalling more than £70k.
In fact, with last-minute donations and matching contributions still trickling in over a fortnight on from this year’s event, the final figure is actually set to surpass that by several thousands.
Simply incredible stuff. Speaking on the night, here’s what the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, had to say about another inspiring edition of the annual endurance relay.
Running in the wind and rain, dashing through puddles in the cold, the pitch black and all through the night into the fresh cold Manc morning this month, more than a thousand volunteers, locals, businesses, and more laced up their trainers for the seventh edition in six years.
For those unaware, this event is a recurring 5k relay loop around Manchester, with the route designed to run around parts of the city centre where you can witness homelessness first-hand.
Taking place in November every year – when the region is even more dark, grey and wet than usual – this also gives participants an opportunity to further empathise with the discomfort felt by rough sleepers.
Well over 4,000 individuals and 165 organisations have taken part in this initiative since 2019, funding more than 70,000 nights of accommodation through the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity and its ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme. That tally is set to jump massively, once again, after this year’s run.
Here’s how the 2025 stats on the tarmac break down:
100 running clubs and organisations
Over 1,500 individual runners and walkers
44 x five-kilometre consecutive relay laps run
Over £188,700* raised across all events and years.
Multiple sponsors, including Autotrader, Accenture and Mistral
Credit: Ed Hill (supplied)
In 2025, the 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness also successfully expanded to Sheffield and Hereford for the first time, as well as returning to Birmingham for its second year.
The event unites local running communities to support local organisations. Better still, in 2026, the event is expected to expand again; for instance, after a rescheduling, the event is heading over to Yorkshire once more for the inaugural edition of The Leeds 24 Hour Run in March 2026.
Reflecting on the event’s seventh year, The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness co-founder, Thomas Lewis, says: “Every year I think we’ve hit our peak in terms of fundraising and turnout, and every year we somehow manage to surpass it. I’m completely blown away by the support and dedication of the Manchester running community. Bring on next year.”
Fran Darlington-Pollock, the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity’s outgoing CEO, added: “We’re so proud to continue supporting this incredible event and all the hard work that goes into making it such a success year after year.
“The passion and dedication of the organisers, runners, and supporters are truly inspiring, and we’re so grateful for the funds raised, which help people experiencing homelessness through A Bed Every Night.”
Anyone still wanting to make a donation can do so by visiting The 24 Hour Run website and the attached JustGiving page HERE, which will remain open for a few weeks following the event.
There are plenty of other ways we can help fight homelessness throughout the year, and it’s by pursuing vital causes like this that we truly put the great in Greater Manchester.
Greater Manchester stadiums included in the bid to host the Women’s World Cup confirmed
Danny Jones
The locations for the official UK bid to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup have been revealed, along with the Greater Manchester football stadiums chosen for the honour.
Not exactly a ground-breaking spoiler, but the FA did make a somewhat curious choice when they shared the news.
In case you hadn’t heard the news earlier this year, our nation has officially thrown its hat into the ring for the Women’s World Cup (WWC) in 2035, with England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all set to offer up their arenas as part of the record-breaking proposal.
Naturally, a region as footy-obsessed as ours and with two of the biggest stadiums in the country was always going to be included, but as mentioned, there was a particular detail that lots of people quickly noticed following the announcement.
Yes, in a slightly bizarre but ultimately innocuous turn of events, Etihad Stadium – home of Manchester City FC – has been selected, as was the world-famous ‘Theatre of Dreams‘, the only difference being that it was listed separately from the city itself.
Instead, Man United’s iconic home turf, Old Trafford, has been listed as just that: in Trafford, specifically, as opposed to simply being listed in the same section as its sky blue counterpart.
Now, while it’s true that all 10 boroughs have their own identity, culture (not to mention some subscribing to still being part of Lancashire or even Cheshire), it did strike us and others as a bit odd to put that rather iconic and equally historic venue down as almost separate from the city.
Many would argue that one of the things Manchester is best known for around the globe is the team of Red Devils that play at that ground.
Naturally, ‘Cityzens‘ have had their fair share of fun with the post and, conversely, there’s been plenty of retorts regarding ‘supporters from Stockport’, as you would expect…
Nevertheless, we’re just glad to see the Etihad and Old Trafford continuing to cater to some of the biggest dates on the sporting calendar.
Some have actually argued that the region should have been given opportunities to host more stadiums and/or games as part of the market pitch, as the likes of both Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic’s stadiums were floated as viable or even better alternatives, capacity-wise.
Either way, with the 22 venues that have been selected for the UK’s bid for the 2035 Women’s World Cup and us Brits currently unopposed in the race to secure the tournament, the FA are going all-in for the 48-team competition, which would be “the biggest single-sport event ever staged in the UK.”
You can read more down below.
Our shared ambition: to host the largest single-sport event ever staged in the UK, and the first FIFA World Cup in this country since 1966.#AllTogetherpic.twitter.com/y6GOPEPDdG
The Manc -
1st July 2020 
