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.
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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 Wiganranks 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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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:
Rank
Town/City
Clubs within 20-mile radius
Clubs per 1,000 girls aged 5-19
1
Wigan
709
103.3
2
St Albans
728
99.8
3
Bury
641
86.9
4
Woking
548
84.2
5
Tamworth
477
73.8
6
Hemel Hempstead
595
70.9
7
Watford
851
70.5
8
Harlow
601
69.1
9
Royal Sutton Coldfield
522
67.7
10
St Helens
602
67.2
Just like in the Super League, Wigan are the top of the table.
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet named coach of the year after historic quadruple-winning year
Danny Jones
Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet has been named coach of the year by the Sports Journalists’ Association Committee (SJA) following his record-breaking season with the champions.
Peet led the Greater Manchester side to four Grand Slams in a single calendar year, a feat never seen before in the Super League era, achieving the historic feat with a Grand Final win over Hull KR at Old Trafford last month.
In recognition of his incredible 2024 campaign in charge of the Warriors, the Wigan-born local hero was awarded the SJA Committee Award, handed over to the most outstanding coach each year, on Wednesday, 20 November for the second time in his career.
The 40-year-old won the prestigious accolade during his first season with the club back in 2022 but it’s fair to say this one will feel even more special.
🏆 Congratulations to Matt Peet who has received the Sports Journalists' Association Committee Award which is given to the coach of the year.
The Warriors began the season by defeating Penrith Panthers at The Brick Community Stadium to lift a record-equalling fifth World Club Challenge before success in the Betfred Challenge Cup Final saw Wigan beat fellow North West outfit, Warrington Wolves, at Wembley Stadium in June.
Having sealed the League Leaders’ Shield following a final-round win against local rivals Salford Red Devils, the Warriors then went on to beat Hull – who were competing in their first Grand Final – to become the first team of the Super League era to lift all four trophies within the space of just 12 months.
Speaking on the award via an official club statement, Peet said: “I’m very proud and very grateful to be selected by the committee. It reflects really well on our organisation, our club, players and rugby league in general.
“We never set out with an ambition to win the quadruple, we just set out to improve and learn. It’s not an award rugby league is synonymous with, so to know our sport is getting some recognition, it makes me very proud to be at the forefront of it.”
He went on to tell Sky Sports that it was the “energy and the atmosphere” of Wigan that helped get them across the line after so many games, insisting that they “had the whole town behind [them]”.
🗣️ "Very grateful to be selected"
Head coach Matt Peet has won the SJA committee award after steering Wigan Warriors to all four trophies in 2024 🏉 pic.twitter.com/5AsDS4Cb15
It’s a truly fantastic achievement and to have the award brought home to Greater Manchester once again is wonderful news no matter who you support.
The fixtures for the 2025 Super League season are set to be released tomorrow (Thursday, 21 November), with the action getting underway in February as usual. The Summer Festival of Rugby Leaguewill also return after a year off with a blockbuster May Bank Holiday weekend in Newcastle.
Not only will it be a decade since the event was first held in the Toon but it also marks the Magic Weekend’s 18th birthday.
As for SJA coach of the year Matt Peet and the Warriors, it’s looking like a question of just how many titles can they defend next year.
Pep Guardiola agrees new contract to stay at Manchester City for at least one more year
Danny Jones
Blues will be delighted to hear that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is staying after agreeing to sign a contract extension that will keep him at the club for at least one more year.
The Catalan coach and supremely talented tactician has won all there is to win with Man City and after completing not only a record-matching treble but making history by becoming the first English team to win four Premier League titles in a row, you could argue his Etihad project is well and truly completed.
Guardiola, who joined City back in 2016, has gradually been creeping towards the end of his most recent contract, leaving those slowly searching for his replacement and the fan base wondering what the future holds for their next chapter.
But it turns out they don’t have to worry about life after Pep for a little while longer, as the 53-year-old has now extended his stay for at least another season. The blue moon that has loomed over Manchester for the best part of a decade isn’t going anywhere just yet.
𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has agreed a new one-year contract extension with the option of an additional year.
The 53-year-old’s existing City deal was due to expire at the end of this season and, if the new terms are fulfilled, it would take… pic.twitter.com/S8r1gVEcPj
Breaking the news on Tuesday evening, 19 November, The Athletic‘s Sam Lee revealed that Pep Guardiola will remain head coach for another season after agreeing to a new one-year deal.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager, who is comfortably one of the most decorated and celebrated coaches in football history, was due to leave the club at the end of the current campaign.
However, although his contract would have seen him depart by June of next year, this new deal will now see him stay in post until the summer of 2026, which will talk his tenure to a full 10 years.
Although City themselves are yet to confirm the signing amid the international break, it’s only a matter of time before they deliver the news all Blues have been waiting for – news that will no doubt come as a huge relief given the immense success he has brought to East Manchester.
Despite waiting until now to seemingly decide his future, the man himself has actually been pretty clear on the matter, insisting that he “fell in love” with the club from the moment he got here and saying as far back as 2020 that “unless they [CFG] sack me, I will stay here.”
Man City fans will honour Pep with a banner which reads in Catalan, 'we want you to stay'…
"They'll have to bring me the bill. I will pay the bank. I don't want them to spend money for that reason. I feel in love since the first day I came here." 🥺
Better still, while the details of the agreement are yet to be fully detailed, the report says that his new contract also includes the option to extend for a further year beyond that, meaning we could be looking at Pep in the dugout until 2027.
Should City go on to close the gap on current league leaders Liverpool, it would mean Guardiola would have overseen five title wins with the same team in a row: a feat only matched by very few in European football, most notably Juventus and Bayern Munich, the latter having managed 13 consecutive years.
Who knows if/when Guardiola will actually leave the Etihad Stadium for a new challenge, all we know is he changed modern football forever and has given Manchester – a city already spoilt in this respect – some of the most impressive football it’s ever seen.
All we do know is that the beautiful game’s passionate, bald, tiki-taka extraordinaire known simply as Pep is staying in 0161 for the time being and there are countless fans who are absolutely buzzing about it.
Danny Jones -
23rd September 2024 
