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

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Wigan named best place for young girls to get into football in England

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.

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.

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.

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.

Read more:

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.

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.

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Featured Images — Latics Women (via X)