How Wigan Warriors are making positive impact in community as chairman sets out vision
“That connection between the club and the community is what makes us special.”
Those are the words of Wigan Warriors chairman Professor Chris Brookes, who believes the club’s impact in the community is just as important as the on-field success.
Speaking to Wigan Today about the club’s off-field efforts, Brookes says the bond between the Warriors and the borough remains a ‘key pillar’ to everything they do.
"That connection between the club and the community is what makes us special,” he said.
"We hold that as the central part of Wigan Warriors. Our players connecting with the community, supporting local charities, those face-to-face visits, they mean so much to so many people.
“We’ve had feedback from places where the players have been around the impact that they’ve made.”
Brookes highlighted the club’s partnership with Wigan & Leigh Hospice as a standout example. The hospice served as the Warriors’ charity partner in 2025, with the club raising more than £18,000 over the course of the year.
“I want to especially call out Wigan & Leigh Hospice – our charity partner for 2025 – the impact that the players had on visiting Wigan & Leigh Hospice has been enormous,” Brookes said.
“It’s been our privilege to be the charity partner of Wigan and Leigh Hospice. It’s a bit like when I worked in emergency... You met so many people who have actually been through that setting because everybody needs it at some stage. Wigan & Leigh Hospice is like that because it’s so pivotal in what it does to the needs of our community.”
Brookes said the hospice holds a special place in the hearts of many local families.
“So many families in the borough have been really grateful for the care and expertise of the hospice, so for us to be able to replicate our commitment to that and reinforce that with the players and the money that we raised, especially when one of our most revered players in Liam Marshall has had his own mum being looked after there, so it is a very special place to us.
"I’d also like to thank the support we’ve had from the hospice and how great they’ve been welcoming our players and our staff, and that being a powerful relationship and how much that has helped our players as well, by just going there.”
Brookes explained that community engagement is embedded in the club’s planning, including pre-season preparations, with the club recently completing its ‘Warriors Together’ programme.
“The key part of pre-season training is, of course, all the conditioning and fitness for the players, but for the club, our leadership and for Matt (Peet) as our head coach and the board, that connection between the players and what is happening within the community – that’s been an absolute key pillar of everything we did,” he said.
The chairman also addressed wider social challenges within the borough, pointing to the prevalence of child poverty in Wigan, with the club having invited thousands of youngsters to take part in fun-filled sessions at Robin Park Arena while Peet’s side were in pre-season training.
“Giving opportunities to all young people is really important to us, and those opportunities should not be restricted to those who can afford such opportunities,” Brookes said.
“It is truly open to all and the work the Council has done to support that, so that every young person in Wigan gets the chance to experience meeting the players, the chance to mix and mingle, the chance to come to Robin Park Arena, whether your family can afford it or not – that’s absolutely critical to us.”
He added: “Child poverty in Wigan is, unfortunately, something which is so prevalent and up to nearly 19,000 children are affected by that, so giving opportunity to youngsters is very important, but at the same time, our work with charity partners to provide the essentials of daily living is just as important as the opportunities that we bring.
“One is the opportunity and the real impact of the players on the children, but also the other side is how we as a club are working to help reduce childhood poverty with so many children in Wigan affected, and how we work with partners to provide the essentials of daily living.”
Among those partnerships is The Brick’s Multibank project, which distributes goods to families in need.
“Through donations and working with another one of our charity partners, The Brick and their Multibank project, those donations mean that the equivalent of a million pounds of products has been provided to over 50,000 families in Wigan this year,” Brookes said.
“I know it is sometimes difficult to talk about these things, yet where we are isn’t just about providing opportunity. It’s actually dealing with the manifestations of that, and that’s kids not having the basic stuff for daily living.
“The Multibank is a donation that goes to The Brick, and because The Brick works with any number of organisations, like Amazon for instance, they then can multiply that amount of money by being able to buy a huge amount of products at a discounted price because of the association, which then provides for the daily living of families. Over 50,000 families have been provided with the equivalent of a million pounds’ worth of products to support daily living.”
Brookes also confirmed there will be closer alignment between the Warriors and Wigan Athletic in their community work under the ownership of Mike Danson.
“There is going to be a closer alignment with what Wigan Athletic Community Trust is doing as well under Brenda Spencer’s leadership – we are really aligned with them,” he said.
“We are going to be aligned with reducing poverty in childhood, improving mental health in the population and also using our women’s health and wellbeing sport facility at Orrell to help improve women’s health and wellbeing too.
“The Wigan Athletic Community Trust is an independent body from the Wigan Warriors Community Foundation, but having these common community aims will be where we go forward.”