Wigan Athletic Home Shirt JJB 2006-07 Vintage Long Sleeved

Wigan Athletic 2006-07 – The JJB long-sleeved shirt of Premier League survival

In 2006-07, Wigan Athletic played their second consecutive season in the Premier League — a feat still unthinkable ten years earlier for this Lancashire club. This JJB long-sleeved home shirt is a direct witness to a permanent battle for survival, fought tooth and nail week after week against England's biggest clubs.

Shirt details

Season: 2006-2007
Club: Wigan Athletic
Type: Home
Kit manufacturer: JJB Sports
Sponsor: JJB
Condition: 9/10
State: SPONSOR: JJB – authentic wear of a vintage worn shirt

What this shirt represents

In 2006-07, Wigan Athletic weren't supposed to be in the Premier League. The club was promoted to England's top flight for the first time in its history in 2005, after a meteoric rise orchestrated under the impetus of owner Dave Whelan. Staying in the elite was never a given for the Latics — every point snatched at home at the JJB Stadium was a victory in itself. This shirt is that of a club that refuses to be crushed by giants.

The particularity of this season is also the unique link between the kit manufacturer JJB Sports and the shirt sponsor: the two are one and the same. JJB Sports, a British sports retail chain founded by Dave Whelan, sponsored the club AND supplied the players' kits. A rare case in professional football, which gives this collector's shirt a totally singular visual and historical identity. It's hard to find anything more intertwined in the history of a kit.

Moments etched in this shirt

Paul Scharner, the Austrian warrior
Arriving in January 2006, the Austrian defender-midfielder Paul Scharner perfectly embodies the spirit of this Wigan team: versatile, tough, capable of popping up in both boxes. In 2006-07, he was one of the key men in the Latics' survival and the one often found fighting hard in crucial moments.

Emile Heskey, the return home
Emile Heskey wore this shirt during the 2006-07 season, a son of the East Midlands who had spent his entire career in the English top flight. His physical presence up front was a valuable asset for a team that had to pick up points against top-level defenses. Seeing him in a Wigan long-sleeved home shirt is a strong symbol of the club's rise in stature.

A narrow escape, season after season
Wigan's 2006-07 season ended in 17th place in the Premier League, a narrow survival. Every home match at the JJB Stadium carried an immense emotional charge for the fans, and this long-sleeved shirt — typical of matches played in the cold of northern England — absorbed every thrill.

Authentic vs Replica

A vintage authentic shirt has nothing to do with a fan replica from mass production factories. The materials, the finishes, the labels, the cut — everything is different. An authentic from this era is an item designed to be worn by professional players or sold as a premium item, not to be printed endlessly and sold off cheap. That's what gives a piece like this its value.

This JJB Wigan Athletic home shirt 2006-07 displays a condition of 9/10, which is frankly remarkable for a piece nearing twenty years old. No aggressive discoloration, no torn flocking, no seams coming undone — this is the kind of condition that allows it to be worn proudly or framed without shame. A relic of 2000s English football in almost immaculate condition.

Vintage size guide

Vintage sizes from the 2000s follow standards that have little to do with what you find on shelves today. A vintage size S often corresponds to what would now be called an XS, or even a very fitted S. The cuts of the time were straighter, shorter, and narrower than modern "relaxed" or "oversize" cuts. Don't assume your usual size.

Before buying, take a tape measure and measure your shoulder width, chest circumference, and torso length. Then compare with the exact measurements of the shirt if available, or rely on the following benchmarks: a vintage JJB Sports S from the 2000s will generally fit a slim build with a chest circumference of around 90-96 cm. It's better to check twice than be disappointed once.

Why have it in your collection

Wigan Athletic shirts remain among the most undervalued pieces in the vintage English football market. The club never had the visibility of a Manchester United or an Arsenal, but that's precisely what makes it a characterful piece for a true collector. A Wigan shirt from the Premier League era is rare, targeted, and tells a football story that few people truly know. The particularity of JJB as both kit manufacturer and sponsor on a single item exists nowhere else.

And let's be honest: there aren't many vintage Premier League long-sleeved shirts in 9/10 condition still floating around in this state. Long sleeves wear out more, deform faster, accumulate the marks of time — finding one almost intact after almost twenty years is not common. Whether you're a Latics fan, a collector of 2000s English kits, or simply a lover of rare pieces of British football, this window won't stay open long.

To go further

• Wigan Athletic - Wikipedia
• Football Kit Archive – Shirt history
• UEFA – European Football

This Wigan Athletic 2006-07 JJB long-sleeved shirt is an authentic page of popular English football — if you let it pass, someone else will write it into their collection instead of you.