They’re both ardent Latics fans, have been for years and for the past two home games they have been enjoying the game together.
It’s business as usual for Angela, who hails from Highfield. She’s been cheering on the blue and white army long before the heady days of the Premiership. But for Anthony, the chance to see his sporting heroes up close is a rare treat and one that up until recently, he wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of.
Anthony has a learning disability and the only chance to see his team up until now would have been on TV. It’s all thanks to a unique partnership between Wigan Council and two of the borough’s sporting giants, Wigan Athletic and Wigan Warriors, which is helping supporters with disabilities such as Anthony’s cheer on their team on match day.
The scheme is called Never Watch Alone and it teams up fans like Anthony with ‘buddies’ such as Angela. You don’t have to be a professional carer, but you have to be 18 or over and prepared to be a good friend…and of course you’ve got share a passion for your favourite sport.
Angela said: “I've always been a fan of Wigan Athletic and this just seemed like an ideal opportunity to share it with someone else. Anthony had only ever seen the team on telly before this and without me as a buddy, he wouldn’t be able to go. We’ve been to two games so far and he really loves seeing the team. It’s like a dream come true.”
Buddies signing up for the scheme first have to go through a short assessment process before they are matched up. They are given help and support from the Never Watch Alone team along the way. The trade-off is that they get into the game for free.
“It’s a full day out for Anthony and it’s great for me as well,” says Angela. “The only skills you need are to be able to get on with people, have a chat, have a laugh and love the game. Anthony’s also a big Warriors fan so he’ll be going to see them with another buddy.”
Wigan is the first borough in the country to take up the Never Watch Alone initiative and it’s already finding favour with some of the town’s sporting big guns.
A Latics spokesman said: “This is a fantastic way for everyone to get together and support their local team. We would to see more people sign-up to the programme, ‘buddy up’ with like-minded supporters, come along to the game and cheer us on!”
Warriors agreed, they said: "Schemes like this provide a very special opportunity for people with a learning disability to come along to the DW stadium and cheer our boys on."
