There is a palpable air of excitement in Leigh as the town gears up to host four matches at the Women’s Euros tournament this month.
Residents and business owners have told the Manchester Evening News they see the event as a “real opportunity” for the town - except for one problem. Almost all of the marketing around the event focuses on Wigan, despite the matches being held in Leigh.
The rivalry between the two towns is well-known, but director of Leigh Means Business, Steven Tomlinson, said the issue isn’t about any historic grudge but rather what is “logical”.
“The Women’s Euros coming to Leigh is a brilliant thing for us,” he said. “But everybody is really puzzled as to why all the promotion focuses on Wigan borough, or Wigan and Leigh.
“The fundamental issue is that when they describe what is in Wigan borough, or what is in Wigan and Leigh, they’re only describing venues and businesses that are in Wigan town centre.”
Although the towns are both part of Wigan borough, Steven highlighted the practical issues of promoting businesses in Wigan when the matches are happening in Leigh - a 45 minute bus journey away.
“From a practical and realistic point of view, nobody is going to come to a football match in Leigh Sports Village and then go into Wigan for a pint afterwards. It wouldn’t make any sense,” he told the M.E.N.
“There are some real gems in Leigh, some genuinely nice restaurants. This is a real missed opportunity for those businesses.”
One such business owner is Andrew Twentyman. He runs Twentymans Pizza with his wife Liz on Bradshawgate - they serve homemade pizza and bread among other delicacies in a charming, rustic independent restaurant.
The pair noticed that when you tap ‘explore food and drink’ on the ‘Wigan and Leigh’ section of the official Women’s Euros app, the website you are taken to only displayed attractions and businesses in Wigan. In fact, Leigh is not even an option to select.
“We’re not saying that we’re not part of Wigan borough,” he said, “but all the games are in Leigh. We’re only about a ten-minute walk from the stadium, but the website is recommending places that are miles away.
“When the rugby comes, that's Wigan and Leigh, three games in each, I understand that. But this is just Leigh. So why they don’t just say it’s in Leigh, this is where you need to go, you can stay in Leigh, I don’t know.
“If it was in Bury you wouldn’t say Bolton!”
Andrew told fans who might be travelling to Leigh for the first time to “Embrace it, and embrace the people.
“The people are great, down to earth people. This is putting the women’s sport on the map in Leigh.”
Another business owner who hopes the Euros can be a chance to show off some of the best of the town is Neil Fallows, who owns The Coffee Stop on Railway Road.
Neil has been running the café for six years - but says Covid and the cost of living have posed huge challenges that he hoped the Euros could help them bounce back from.
“Leigh was struggling before Covid, like a lot of northern towns,” he told the M.E.N. “We’re fighting really hard to survive, and little things that would give you a boost are not there at the minute.
“I think this has been a real missed opportunity for us. It’s a belting little stadium down there, but it’s underused.
“It really is a fantastic opportunity. We’re an area that doesn’t get a lot. I’m very passionate about where I live.”
He encouraged people to come into Leigh and see for themselves the businesses that are making their mark on the town. UEFA told the M.E.N that events are taking place across the borough, and Wigan Council as the hosting authority wanted to reflect both Wigan and the town of Leigh in its name.
They also highlighted that they cannot promote individual businesses on the app. As an alternative, Steven has been working on a visitor's guide to Leigh, which highlights some of the best of Leigh for tourists to explore.
The Leader of Wigan Council, Councillor David Molyneux MBE, said: “We are incredibly proud to be a host venue for such a ground-breaking tournament that is putting Leigh and our entire borough on the map.
"The impact of hosting a tournament such as this is borough-wide, through the legacy programme in particular, and will benefit our communities for years to come.
“The matches are, of course, being played at Leigh Sports Village, but the cultural projects and the inspiration for our next generation of athletes is for the whole of Wigan Borough.
“Since being unveiled as a host venue in 2019, we have worked with UEFA to ensure we showcase our entire borough, not just Leigh, or Wigan, but our network of district centres.
“Our most high-profile tourist destinations, such as Pennington Flash and Haigh Woodland Park feature prominently given the opportunity to welcome new visitors.
“In recent weeks we have been engaging with communities and businesses in Leigh and have received a positive response, looking forward to kick-off on Saturday.
“Hosting the Women’s EURO 2022 is a wonderful opportunity for us all to come together and welcome new visitors, showing the world the brilliant and warm community spirit that we have to offer.”
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