Sport

Wigan named the ‘best place in the country’ for girls to get into football

Another part of Greater Manchester made it into the top 10 too.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 23rd September 2024

We all know that Greater Manchester is the true home of football in the UK but, according to the latest research, the borough of Wigan specifically is also the best place for girls to get into the beautiful game.

That’s right, as the women’s game continues to flourish all over the country and the football-mad world at large, it appears that some of the biggest pioneers are the sport-loving and pie-eating people of Wigan – yet all the more reason to love the old Lancashire town.

According to a new study by leading football prediction site, FootballWhispers.com, Wigan topped the list when it came to the best places in England for young girls to get into football.

Here’s how they broke it down…

Credit: Manchester FA

Wigan – the unofficial home of women’s football

Looking at data taken directly from the Football Association (FA) regarding football clubs with teams for girls aged 5-19 and ONS population data, it wasn’t hard for the analysis to pull up a result when it came to the towns and cities with the most available clubs catering for young female players.

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Utilising parameters such as clubs per 1,000 girls of the specified age range and teams within a commutable distance of 20 miles for parents ranked as the best places for girls to get into football, the predictors were able to come up with a score.

That being said, it was found that Wigan ranks the highest for helping girls get into football; within 20 miles of the Greater Manchester town, there are a total of 709 clubs that meet the criteria of providing football for girls aged 5-19. Access is key.

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Speaking of: just as importantly, this result also included both disability and non-disability football, as well as leisure and league-based clubs. This came out as an average of 103.3 clubs per 1,000 girls within the specified age range – the largest proportion of any area nationwide.

This is only further backed up by the recent launch of Wigan Athletic Women, with 2024 marking the first year that the Latics have fielded a female football team.

Wigan Athletic confirm the launch of their first-ever Women’s team
Slowly but surely we’re making progress.

Elsewhere in the study, the likes of St Albans came in just shy of Wigan as the second-best spot for budding young female footballers.

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However, the data only gets better for Greater Manchester as Bury came in at number three, boasting 641 clubs offering girls’ football – a score of 86.9 per 1,000 girls aged 5-19 in the town.

You can see the rest of the top 10 down below:

RankTown/CityClubs within 20-mile radiusClubs per 1,000 girls aged 5-19
1Wigan709103.3
2St Albans72899.8
3Bury64186.9
4Woking54884.2
5Tamworth47773.8
6Hemel Hempstead59570.9
7Watford85170.5
8Harlow60169.1
9Royal Sutton Coldfield52267.7
10St Helens60267.2

Just like in the Super League, Wigan are the top of the table.

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Julien Josset, CEO of Football Whispers, commented on the study: “The popularity of women’s football has skyrocketed in recent years. Thankfully, the sport is becoming increasingly accessible to girls around the world and, particularly, in England.

“With this and what it could mean for England’s future female international representation, it’s interesting to see the areas where it’s easiest to get budding young female players on the pitch.”

So, if you or someone you know is a young girl looking to get into football, they won’t go far wrong looking around Wigan way.

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Rest assured, the beautiful game is alive and well, and spreading among a new generation over in the likes of WN. You love to see it.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Latics Women (via X)

Sport

Manchester United reveal first impressions of new stadium and Old Trafford Regeneration scheme

Danny Jones Danny Jones First impressions of new Old Trafford stadium redevelopment

Manchester United, their chief architects and the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force have finally revealed their first impressions of what the new stadium and surrounding area could look like.

After naming Foster + Partners as the lead designers on the new ‘Wembley of the North’ last week and teasing further details surrounding their Old Trafford masterplan, supports now have their first glimpse at what the task force is hoping can be achieved with the soon-to-be-redeveloped stadium and region.

In addition to creating over 92,000 jobs in the immediate area and across nearby boroughs, one of the biggest claims they have made is that the regeneration scheme will inject an “extra £7.3 billion in GVA [gross value added] for the UK economy each year.”

Presuming these projections are to be believed, Greater Manchester’s Mayor Andy Burnham might be right when he says this could be “the biggest regeneration scheme ever seen in this country.”

Man United shared the lengthy reel featuring concept art and quotes from figures partnering with the Old Trafford Regeneration scheme, including Mayor Burnham, club legend and local entrepreneur Gary Neville and task force’s chair, Lord Sebastian Coe, among others.

Coe, a retired Olympic track and field athlete himself turned sports administrator and former politician, echoed Burnham’s sentiment, adding: “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create something special.”

Lord Foster (of Foster + Partners), who was born just down the road in Reddish, Stockport, also expressed his excitement about being part of the project and building upon “the foundations of Manchester’s industrial heritage.”

The club stated that the overall scheme “will benefit the local community, attract new residents, increase job provision, and make it a vibrant destination for visitors from Manchester, the UK and all around the world”, and the Mayor assured no public money will be used in the development.

You see some snapshots of the would-be teaser video down below:

new stadium CGIs manchester
regeneration task force
new man united stadium CGI images
The first impressions of what a new Old Trafford stadium could be look like (Credit: Man United via screenshot)

The plans will see ‘New Trafford’ – we have no idea if that’s actually its name or not, by the way, just an easy working title for our purposes – erected as the first 100,000-seater stadium not only in the North but the entire country, surpassing the current largest (Wembley) by a full 10k.

However, as the full update from United explains, the plans go far beyond just creating a new football ground: they want to develop the entire Old Trafford district and pump money into both already valuable areas like the Trafford Park industrial complex and under-utilised areas.

The regeneration team has also been tasked with helping carve out plans for “new mixed-use developments around the stadium and in the adjacent Trafford Wharfside area” as well as along the River Irwell towards Salford Quays.

As you see, while these small snippets might only be artistic impressions at this stage, the CGIs have also been backed up by the first models designed by the architects.

You can see more here:

old trafford regeneration scheme images
The plan is to make the Old Trafford area a full on sporting, leisure and entertainment destination.
new old trafford stadium model
trafford redevelopment
Credit: Man United x Old Trafford Regeneration (screenshot)/Sky Sports (via YouTube – screenshot)

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Other stats about the Old Trafford Regeneration scheme that follow these first impressions include an estimated 1.8 million additional visitors to the multi-purpose stadium and more than 17,000 new homes following investment in the surrounding areas.

The club and their regeneration task force are eyeing up a total of one million square meters of new developments/redeveloped plots, so it goes without saying that this could change the face of a good chunk of Greater Manchester forever.

With talk that Man United now intend to keep the existing Theatre of Dreams to house the women’s team and preserve their storied history – rather than bulldoze as many first feared – what you do make of this first look at the potential future of your stadium, Reds?

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Manchester United (via Screenshot)/Sky Sports YouTube

Sport

Cameras pick up heated exchange between Haaland, Arteta and Gabriel Jesus after City vs Arsenal match

Danny Jones Danny Jones Gabriel Jesus confronts Erling Haaland after argument with Mikel Arteta

Man City vs Arsenal round one might have just dished up an early contender for game of the season and although the game itself was thrilling, it was the argument between Erling Haaland, Gabriel Jesus and Mikel Arteta that the cameras caught after the full-time whistle that fans are lapping up.

Following the frustration felt on both sides after an extremely tense 2-2 draw in the first real face-off for this year’s Premier League title, there were some heated words exchanged between Erling Haaland, ex-Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus and their former coach Mikel Arteta.

Picked up by the Sky Sports cameras, a little jab from the big Norwegian resulted not only in a quick death stare by Arteta but also some rapid intervention from Jesus before the whole thing boiled over and they had to be separated.

Maybe it’s still too early to tell but this doesn’t look like just any old bit of beefing between two title contenders you’d get in any other season – it could be the start of a proper era of City vs Arsenal rivalry.

As you can see, Haaland – who made it 100 goals for City in 105 games (matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s first-to-a-century record for one club – turned a quick handshake with Pep Guardiola’s former right-hand man into a dig, patting him on the back and quipping, “Stay humble, eh?”

While the Arsenal manager does turn to react, we’ll never know what he was about to say, if anything, as the club’s previous number-nine comes to his defence, asking why he feels the need to add such comments, at which point Haaland proceeds say “get the f*** away from you f***ing clown.”

The trio are eventually separated by Jack Grealish and other members of the technical staff but Arteta ultimately turns to calm down Jesus as the coverage cuts out.

Nevertheless, the very widely broadcasted spat felt very vintage Barclays, with supporters of both teams and neutrals alike enjoying the feistiness of the exchange. Safe to say Haaland won’t be exchanging Christmas cards with Arteta or Jesus.

Reacting online, one person captioned the clip, “Elite level sports – you eat or get eaten! I love this”; another added, “Jheeez Haaland’s ego is maddd”, while a third simply wrote: “For what a season this is gonna be”. Meanwhile, match-hero John Stones had some choice words of his own after saving a point.

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Clearly feeling somewhat defiant and more lofted after scoring the equalising goal right at the death to keep the Blues’ unbeaten streak alive – 28 games unbeaten in the league and a whopping 47 games unbeaten at home – Stones had a pop of his own at Arsenal’s tactics.

Speaking after the game, the 30-year-old said of their opponents ‘dark arts’ approach to the game: “I don’t know if they have mastered it, they’ve done it for a few years, and we know to expect that. You can call it clever, or dirty, whichever way you want to put it.

“They break up the game, and it upsets the rhythm for everyone. I thought we dealt with it really well. It’s not easy when those things are happening”, he continued, with teammate Bernardo Silva going on to argue: “There was only one team that came to play football. The other came to play to the limits of what was possible to do and allowed by the referee.”

Haaland was also spotted throwing the ball at the back of defender Gabriel’s head after the stoppage time equaliser, with the two later confronting each other, as well as barging over midfielder Thomas Partey despite being nowhere near the ball, but it’s said the FA will be taking not be investigating.

To put it in the words of popular online commentator and podcaster HLTCO, a.k.a. Dan Cook, “Aggro is back at the top of our game” and regardless of whether you’re sad to see love lost between the likes of Arteta, Jesus and their former employers, the vast majority seemed to have very much enjoyed it.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Sky Sports (via Screenshot)

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