Wigan Athletic Academy

Wigan Athletic FC runs a category 2 academy based in Lancashire. They have a strong youth development program that nurtures young talent.

The Academy’s official X (formerly Twitter) account is @Latics_Academy.

Academy Competitions

Each season, the Academy competes across the standard slate of competitions for Category Two clubs:

• U17 Professional Development League Cup – an English youth football tournament for players aged 17 and under.
• U18 Professional Development League – a leading English youth competition for Category Two academies, comprising 20 teams split into North and South regional divisions, combining league competition with a national play-off system.
• U18 Professional Development League Cup – established for the 2021/22 season, featuring 32 teams divided into eight groups of four, with group winners advancing to the knockout stages.
• FA Youth Cup – the traditional nationwide knockout competition open to academy sides across English football.
• Professional Development League 2 – England’s main Under-21 youth competition for Category Two academies, sitting just below Premier League 2. It is split into regional North and South divisions, with play-offs determining the national champion.
• Lancashire FA Professional Youth Cup – a county knockout competition for academy sides based in Lancashire.
• Central League Cup – a reserve-team competition in which entrants are divided into groups, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the quarter-finals.

2025/26 Season

Full details of players retained, released, or returned from loan following the 2024/25 season can be found on the club’s official retained list.

Scholars 2025/26

Josh Adaji, Herbie Cairns, Liam Edwards, Dan Gelhardt, Charlie Hughes, Henry Miller, Erdis Reci, Conor Spelman, Lucas Tobin, Charlie Wesseldine.

Academy Players on Loan 2025/26

• Kai Payne (Midfielder) – Oldham Athletic
• Tom Watson (Goalkeeper) – South Shields
• K’Marni Miller (Defender) – Radcliffe
• Leo Graham (Midfielder) – Bury
• Matty Corran (Goalkeeper) – Atherton Collieries
• Christy Edwards (Forward) – Witton Albion
• Jack Rogers (Midfielder) – Macclesfield
• Chris Sze (Midfielder) – Southport
• Adam Moseley (Forward) – Kingdom Wigan Athletic Academy
• Matteo Spinelli (Goalkeeper) – joined Prescot Cables

2025/26 Tournament Groupings

In the U17 Professional Development League Cup, Wigan Athletic’s Under-17s were grouped with Under-17 sides from Doncaster Rovers, Preston North End and Morecambe.

In the U18 Professional Development League Cup, the Under-18s were drawn in Group E against Fleetwood Town, Stockport County and Blackpool, with fixtures scheduled for 26 August, 4 October and 22 November 2025.

For the Central League Cup, Wigan Athletic’s Reserves were drawn in Group A against Reserve sides from Rotherham United, Stoke City and Bolton Wanderers.

Season Timeline

June 2025

• Goalkeeper Matty Corran signed a one-year contract extension with Wigan Athletic.

July 2025

• 19-year-old K’Marni Miller signed a new two-year deal, with an option to extend for a further 12 months.

September 2025

• 17-year-old midfielder Joe Gilbertson, formerly of the Steven Gerrard Academy, joined Wigan Athletic’s Under-18s after a successful trial, signing a deal running until the end of the 2025/26 season.

November 2025

• After navigating the opening round of the FA Youth Cup against Salford City, Wigan Athletic’s Under-18s were drawn at home against Walsall in the second round.
• The Under-18s were subsequently drawn away to Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium in the third round.

December 2025

• Wigan Athletic’s Under-18s’ FA Youth Cup campaign came to an end in the third round.

January 2026

• Adam Moseley signed for Wigan Athletic after a successful trial, joining the Under-21 squad.

2024/25 Season

The 2024/25 season underlined Wigan Athletic’s strong track record of developing Academy players, with graduates making a significant contribution to first-team minutes across the campaign.

Scholars 2024/25

John-Paul Cavanagh, Zac Edwards, Mason Goulding, Liam Flight, Lucas Hagan, Seb Spelman, Rohan Taylor.

Academy Players on Loan 2024/25

• Joe Adams (Midfielder) – Bradford City
• Josh Stones (Forward) – Oldham Athletic (loan), before later completing a permanent move to York City
• Kai Payne (Midfielder) – Oldham Athletic
• Finn O’Boyle (Goalkeeper) – Harrogate Town; Farsley
• Matthew Corran (Goalkeeper) – Marine FC

Academy Graduates in the First Team 2024/25

Sam Tickle (Goalkeeper, #1), Tom Watson (Goalkeeper, #12), Chris Sze (Midfielder, #14), Baba Adeeko (Midfielder, #16), Luke Robinson (Defender, #19),and James Carragher (Defender, #23).

Harry McHugh (Midfielder, #24), Josh Stones (Forward, #25), Kai Payne (Midfielder, #27), Jack Reilly (Defender, #30), Maleace Asamoah (Forward, #37), K’Marni Miller (Forward, #41).

International Players 2024/25

• Baba Adeeko (MF) – Republic of Ireland U21
• James Carragher (DF) – Malta First Team
• Dale Taylor (FW) – Northern Ireland First Team

2024/25 Tournament Groupings

In the U18 Professional Development League Cup, Wigan Athletic’s Under-18s were drawn in Group D against Under-18 sides from Preston North End, Burnley and Sheffield United.

In the Central League Cup, Wigan Athletic’s Reserves were drawn in Group B against Reserve sides from Stoke City, Stockport County and Preston North End.

Season Timeline

October 2024

• Wigan Athletic were drawn away to Fleetwood Town in the FA Youth Cup first round, with the tie confirmed for 1 November at Highbury Stadium.

November 2024

• Wigan Athletic’s Under-18s’ FA Youth Cup campaign came to an end in the first round, following their tie against Fleetwood Town.

January 2025

• Forward Josh Stones departed Wigan Athletic to join York City in the National League on a permanent transfer.
• Tobias Brenan joined the Latics’ Under-21s from Oxford United after a successful trial.

February 2025

• Wigan Athletic’s Under-18s made history, featuring in the inaugural match at the newly built Everton Stadium.

March 2025

• As part of the EFL’s Youth Development Week, celebrated across all 72 League clubs, Wigan Athletic highlighted its strong record of developing Academy talent.
• 38% of competitive first-team minutes in the 2024/25 season to that point had been played by Academy graduates, and the club had named an Academy graduate in its starting line-up for 128 consecutive matches across all competitions.

May 2025

• Harrison Rimmer was named the Michael Millett Heatable Academy Player of the Year, having made history earlier in the season by scoring the first-ever goal at Everton’s Bramley-Moore Dock.
• Nine second-year scholars — Jake Spaven, Sam Bolland, Christy Edwards, James Knott, Charley McKee, Alex Hughes, Harrison Rimmer, Cole Simms and Reece Greenhalgh — were offered professional contracts.
• They join Harrison Bettoni and Elijah Igiehon, who had each previously been offered and accepted professional terms.

Released Academy Players (end of 2024/25)

Under-21s: Jack Bates, Finn O’Boyle, Jack Reilly.

Under-18s: Oscar Harris, Lewis Wilson, Oliver Fairhurst, Alastair Clifford.