Sara Merican is chosen as a member of the first Wigan Athletic women's football squad
A Gates Cambridge Scholar has been selected to play for Wigan Athletic’s first women’s football team.
Sara Merican is one of 15 players signed by the club. The team were accepted into the Championship division of Lancashire Women’s County League following a successful AGM meeting on 17th July.
Sara [2022], who did her MPhil in Film & Screen Studies, is described as “a defensive-minded player, who arrives at Wigan Athletic following a spell [as a full-back] with Cambridge City in the FA Women National League South East division”, the fourth tier in the women’s football pyramid.
Sara has also played football for the University of Cambridge’s women’s team and regularly took part in Gates Cambridge football sessions. Before that she played for Lion City Sailors in Singapore, where her team won the Women’s Premier League title in 2022, their debut season. She has also been called up by the Singapore National Team on a number of occasions.
Football is not the only sport at which she excels. Sara plays top level cricket. In 2023 she represented Singapore in cricket at the Southeast Asian Games held in Cambodia and she also played cricket for the University of Cambridge.
Hayley Sherratt, Head of Women’s Operations at Wigan Athletic, said: “We are really pleased to have assembled a large percentage of our Women’s Team squad. Myself, Emmerson, and Martin – along with the brilliant Heatable Latics Academy staff – have worked incredibly hard over the last few months to identify players to be part of our Football Club.
“They had to all understand the Club’s values and culture both on and off the field, and most importantly, have the hunger to make history with us. It’s such an exciting time for the Football Club, and the town of Wigan, and we are confident that we have built a squad that is capable of achieving something special in the coming season and beyond.
“We look forward to seeing how all of our new arrivals perform in a Wigan Athletic shirt and are excited for the fans to join us at Edge Hall Road in September for the start of our historic journey.”
