Eight secondary schools competed for the trophy by presenting ideas to reduce gender inequality

Up Holland High School win Wigan Athletic Community Trust’s Premier League Inspires Challenge
The students’ winning idea was to make The Brick Community Stadium a safer and more inclusive place for women to exercise
“It’s been a brilliant experience for them. They did so well and really inspired me.” – Emma Joussemet, Premier League’s Head of Community Engagement

The annual event was held at The Brick Community Stadium, with eight secondary schools in attendance to present ideas to reduce gender inequality through the power of sport.

The students representing their schools are from the Premier League Inspires programme and work each week with staff from Wigan Athletic Community Trust.

Premier League Inspires is made possible thanks to the Premier League Charitable Fund and the Professional Footballer’s Association and uses the power of football to inspire young people aged 11-18 at risk of not reaching their potential to develop the personal skills and positive attitudes needed to succeed in life.

The Premier League Inspires Challenge allows these students to showcase what they’ve learnt at the sessions and build their confidence by presenting to their peers and a group of judges on stage.

This year’s judges included:

Wigan Atheltic’s non-executive director, Lucas Danson
The Premier League’s Head of Community Engagement, Emma Joussemet.
Wigan Athletic Community Trust’s Trustee and former GB athlete, Jenny Meadows

Wigan Warriors’ Head of Youth Development for Women and Girls, Genna Banks!

While each school presented fantastic ideas to reduce gender inequality, including improving the accessibility to sporting equipment and campaigns to make home matches more inclusive, the winning idea came from Up Holland High School.

Up Holland proposed their ‘She runs 2’ idea to improve the lighting and facilities around the Brick Community Stadium to make it a safer and more inclusive area for women to exercise during the evenings.

Up Holland High School Crowned Premier League Inspires Champions