Original Mi-Fit football jersey Wigan Athletic 2014/15

Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English football club, founded in 1932. Wigan Athletic was founded after predecessor Wigan Borough FC went bankrupt. The club played at the Springfield Park stadium until 1999, after 67 years it distanced itself from this stadium and from 1999 Wigan Athletic plays at the JJB Stadium, which can accommodate around 25,000 supporters. With effect from the 2009/2010 season, the name JJB Stadium has been changed to DW Stadium, named after chairman Dave Whelan.

In 1978, Wigan was admitted to the Football League to take the place of Southport. For years the club played in the Football League. In 1995, Dave Whelan, the rich owner of the JJB company, became the new chairman. With his money it went better from that time on. In the 2002/03 season the club became champion of the Division Two. The following season they became 7th in the Division One, after losing to West Ham United on the last day of play and therefore not playing any play-offs. On May 8, 2005, with a 3-1 win over Reading, the club reached 2nd place in The Championship, meaning Wigan played at the highest level for the first time in its history.

The first season in the Premier League started particularly well and Wigan even came second in the Premier League for a while. The final of the League Cup was achieved on January 24, 2006, by beating Arsenal in two games. The final was lost 4-0 to Manchester United.

The second season in the Premiership was a lot less successful and the relegation could only be averted on the last day by a 2-1 victory at Sheffield United. A day later Paul Jewell, who had been successful until then, resigned. The same day, his assistant, Chris Hutchins, was appointed as the new manager. He was fired in November 2007. Steve Bruce succeeded him.

At the end of the 2009/2010 season, manager Bruce made the switch to Sunderland AFC. His successor, Roberto Martínez, came over from Swansea City.

In the 2012/2013 season, Wigan Athletic won the FA Cup by beating Manchester City in the final 0-1 at Wembley Stadium in London. Three days later it relegated to the Championship after a 4-1 defeat at Arsenal. In the 2014/2015 season, the club relegated again, this time to the League One. Wigan only stayed one season in the third class. The club finished in first place, two points ahead of Burton Albion, returning to the Football League Championship at the end of the 2015/16 season.