What happened to Wigan Athletic- the 2013 FA Cup winners?
Wigan Athletic was a regular in top-flight English football in the early years of the last decade. The club had evolved into a midtable club over a stretch of eight years since 2005.
The summer of 2013
The summer of the 2012/13 season was the last time the club featured in Premier League football. They had escaped relegation in the season prior to that and were hopeful of a new era under the management of Roberto Martinez
However, it turned out to be a season with contrasting vibes. The club secured their first major trophy by beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final only to be relegated from the Premier League three days later. A 4-1 defeat to Arsenal marked the end of Wigan's reign in the Premier League.
Wigan's life in the Championship
The following year saw Wigan again play in the FA Cup semifinals, only to lose to Arsenal on penalties. More importantly, they finished a respectable 5th in the EFL Championship.
However, such stability was soon to be forgotten as the club suffered relegation the season after, only to win the EFL League One season the following year. By the summer of 2016, Wigan had spent life in three different divisions in the same number of years and were back in the Championship.
🏆 Wins League One title with Wigan
🌏 Comes on for Egypt at World Cup 2018
👏 A dream few months for Sam Morsy https://t.co/tkpv2xDRx7
End of the Whelan years
The roller-coaster ride continued for Wigan as the Whelan family were contemplating their own departure. Wigan were relegated again from the Championship in the 2016/17 season only to miraculously repeat their feat from two seasons ago. In the summer of 2018, they lifted their second EFL League One trophy in three years.
Happy 80th Birthday Mr. Whelan! #WAFC supporters get down to the DW today for the unveiling of the Dave Whelan statue at the DW Stadium. https://t.co/njBf6JvAgL
By the end of the campaign, it was announced that the Whelan family had sold their majority share at the club to a Hong-Kong based franchise.
By the time the deal was complete, Wigan had finally managed to survive the hassles of the Championship.
New ownership and relegation again
The club struggled early on in the 2019-20 season.
To make matters more complicated, it was announced mid-season that due to the Covid-19 crisis, the club had gone into administration. The new owners failed to invest their promised wealth into the club.
Subsequently, a "12-point deduction" was charged against Wigan.
With the club struggling in the 14th place on the standings at the time of the decision, the 12-point deduction forced them into a relegation scrap. They failed to recover from the pushback and were eventually relegated that season.
Wigan Athletic have lost their appeal against a 12-point deduction and will be relegated to League One.
Current standing in EFL
They are currently plying their trade in League One after last year's elimination from the Championship and sit second behind Rotterham.