Jamie Allen | Head of Media, Marketing & Communications at Wigan Athletic

Meet Jamie Allen, Head of Media, Marketing & Communications at Wigan Athletic Football Club.

In the edition of Industry Insider, we delve into his diverse career journey, from freelance sports journalism at Manchester United to leading media teams at St. Helens Rugby League Club and now heading up football communications at 2013 FA Cup winners and Sky Bet League One side Wigan Athletic.

Jamie shares his passion for the industry, the challenges and rewards of his role, and his valuable advice for aspiring sports professionals.

Tell us about yourself, what do you do in your current role and what roles have you done previously?

Like many others in similar positions, I am a passionate sportsman. I love talking about it, writing about it and working within it. I have been fortunate to have worked in the sports media industry for well over a decade now, including close to two years in my current role as Head of Media, Marketing and Communications at Wigan Athletic.

I lead a small, but talented team and oversee all marketing, media, communications and content for both matchday and non-matchday club activity. In simpler terms, that basically means I oversee the club’s website, app, social media platforms and work through marketing campaigns, as well as handle all communications and media activity for the first team squad, including the manager.

Previous to that I spent five seasons as a freelance journalist at my boyhood club Manchester United. I have also recently spent four years as Head of Media and Content at St Helens Rugby League Club which included a short secondment with the England national team – a truly proud moment!

I started my career in rugby league at the Huddersfield Giants and then the charitable arm of Leeds Rhinos, before spending four years at a national charity so I would like to think I have quite a broad knowledge base across a variety of industries.

What three words would you use to describe your role?

• Relentless (busy!)
• Varied
• Rewarding

“Normal” isn’t a thing in sport so what does an “average” week look like for you? 

This question made me smile. It’s ironic because I know Wigan fans often say they just want “one normal day” involving their football club! It’s fair to say it’s not been a ‘normal’ job at Wigan Athletic over recent years. I won’t go into the finer details of all that now, but it has been full of ups and downs, from unpaid wages, points deductions and transfer embargoes under a previous ownership, to a full rebuild of the club – on and off the field – under a new ownership. It has certainly been eventful!

No two days are ever the same and it really depends on what stage of the season we are at. Right now, we have just made our way through the busy Christmas fixture period, but a , so a ‘normal’ week would see us covering a game on a Saturday, before prepping for another fixture on a Tuesday evening a few days later. It would then be all systems go for the following Saturday with the likes of a press conference, digital match pack creation, web and social content, accreditation requests, setting up streaming services, logistical tasks around the matchday itself and e-marketing initiatives – just to name a few!

Aside from the usual week-to-week jobs we may also have a host of commercial partner obligations to deliver, fan advisory board meetings to cover, retail products and half season tickets to sell as well as a host of player appearances in the community to arrange. That time of the year has come around again with the January transfer window upon us and it is all systems go on that front. It’s safe to say, we keep ourselves busy! Typically because of the fluid and relentless nature of football, aside from the key marketing campaigns such as season tickets and kit launches, we try and work in two week cycles in terms of content and workflow – just because it is forever changing!

How did you end up where you are right now? When did you know you wanted to work in sport?

I always played sport as a kid. I played football right the way from U7s until post-University, as well as a bit of racket sports for local teams and my county, but I was never good enough to make it any further than that! So as is the case for most, the next best thing to playing professionally is to work in the field and that was always my aim, probably right from school in truth.

I started out, like many, desperate to work in sports journalism and I do believe it’s the work you do outside of University which puts you ahead of the game – excuse the pun! I opted to do as much as I could whilst studying for my Sports Journalism degree to not only aid my development, but to build a network of contacts. It’s often cliché, but building relationships from day dot really does help. I wrote for the student newspaper, spent short work experience spells at the likes of the Bolton News, Blackpool FC, Shoot Magazine, Fylde RFC (I had no idea about rugby union at the time, but it all helps!) as well as spending a short stint in London at the Daily Express. The contacts and experience was vital.

Post University I then wrote to all professional sports clubs in the North West and Yorkshire and thankfully Huddersfield Giants rugby league club got back to me and offered me an internship – and I snapped their hand off.

With it being an internship, it was never going to be the best pay and in truth, I knew nothing about rugby league at the time. Add to that the fact I was travelling 80 miles a day and it was a challenge. But I would not have changed it for the world, because it was fantastic experience and the ‘foot in the door’ I needed. Without that opportunity, I am certain I wouldn’t be where I am today.

After spending nine months there, I received a tap on he shoulder from the CEO (who I still keep in touch with today), who explained – and I quote: “There is a role up the road at Leeds Rhinos. If I were you, I would apply….”

I did – and I thankfully got the job. That was probably the first time I realised, it is not all about ‘what you know’, but a large part of ‘who you know’ – contacts and relationship building really is vital! I will always be thankful to the team at Huddersfield.

I then spent just short of two years at Leeds Rhinos Foundation, heading up the marketing and communications in a lone role profiling the charitable arm. I loved my time living in Headingley and this role gave me great experience in how best to deliver charity growth utilising a large club brand.

I relocated back home and opted to stay in the charity industry, spending four years at national charity OnSide Youth Zones. They are an inspiring organisation who build £8m Youth Zones for young people. I started out as a comms co-ordinator and progressed to a comms manager before then heading up the marketing and communications team. Although outside of the sporting industry, there were a lot of links to sport with high-profile sportsmen and women involved in Youth Zone projects. I met and interviewed some huge personalities including the likes of Sir Clive Woodward, Sir Trevor Brooking, Mark Noble, the Jackson Five, Jamie Oliver, the late Liam Payne as well Prince Harry! My highlight was probably rapping the famous World in Motion with Liverpool legend John Barnes which was pretty cool at the time!

Despite enjoying my role in the charity industry, I missed the football world so contacted Manchester United and offered my services on a freelance basis at the weekend – simply to keep my hand in the sports world. The former Editor at the time actually remembered me first writing to him when I was at University and I am forever grateful to him for bringing me into his freelance pool of staff. Again I come back to contacts and building relationships – it certainly paid off on this occasion.

I spent five seasons at United between 2014 and 2019 as a freelance matchday journalist covering the club home and away. I had many a great memories and experiences, writing match reports, providing live app updates and post-match media duties with the player and managers all over the country. As a United fan, this was a dream weekend job!

My next role took me back to rugby league as the Head of Media and Content at St Helens. This was without doubt the most enjoyable four years of my career thus far. I was very lucky to be involved in a historic period of success whereby the team won a record-breaking four Grand Finals in a row back at the familiar, Old Trafford as well as two Wembley Challenge Cup appearances. Memories again to last a lifetime!

I was also very fortunate to be asked by the RFL to work with Shaun Wane and his England squad at the Rugby League World Cup. Working closely with players and coaching staff as well as broadcast partner the BBC and various national journalists, I managed all media relations throughout the tournament. Another proud moment for sure.

My dream growing up was always to head up a media team in professional football and I am now grateful to be living that out currently at Wigan Athletic.

What is your number one focus when it comes to your work?

I am a big people person and I believe that if you have a happy team and a happy culture internally, that aids you through the tough times – and we have certainly experienced tough times at Wigan. I am big on ensuring we as a team have exactly that. I think that’s how you get the best out of people.

If we’re talking specific workstreams, I am a firm believer in doing what we can do really well, rather than stretching ourselves and potentially under-delivering. Resource in professional sport is often a challenge, so I would much rather over-deliver on what we can do, rather than launch say a new digital platform and not fulfil it to the best of our ability – if that makes sense!

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career so far?

I think the most important thing I have learnt, especially in the past two years in my current role, is how to really keep calm under extreme pressure. This isn’t always easy in what we call ‘crisis communication’ situations, but is vital in order to be able to deliver effective communication during the toughest of circumstances. I think this has also really helped me to build resilience which I think is crucial in all forms of life.

What are you excited about in your industry at the moment?

Football and technology is forever changing so it is always exciting to try and stay ahead of the trends. We have seen many examples of club’s using the likes of AI in their marketing campaigns and specifically kit launches which I think is interesting to explore further.

Likewise, new social media platforms continue to make their way onto our screens. Bluesky for example is ‘hot’ at the moment. The newest social platform could be on the verge of a turning point if it continues rapidly attracting users. So it will be interesting to see how many football club’s get on board – we are certainly keeping a close eye on it!

Sport is a hectic industry, what do you do to switch off?

I must admit, that is one of my biggest challenges. It is hard to switch off when you are involved in sport – and specifically in communications. It’s a 24-7 industry. But when I do get chance, playing sport and watching it is still high on my priority list. More importantly, I love spending time with my family. I have a one-year-old now and she has put life into perspective a little – family comes first!

If you could change one thing about your Industry, what would you change?

That’s a tough question! I suppose it goes back to one of my previous answers. Most football and professional sports clubs outside of the Premier League have small teams and this has been the case in virtually all my sporting roles, so switching off can be difficult. There is often a culture in professional sport that we should all work every single fixture or event within the season which can be tough with a young family – especially in the football media world where it literally never stops!

I suppose it also comes down to the perception that some may have towards media and marketing teams. We don’t just have to ‘post a few tweets’ or ‘take a few pictures’ – there is far more to our roles and responsibilities than this, so an understanding of people’s wider roles would be great and I hope this piece helps paint that picture a tad.

If you were to give a piece of advice to someone wanting to do your role, what would you say?

Definitely build relationships with people, both in and out of work. It is so important to have contacts in this industry and that can really help you get the best out of your career. It has certainly helped me along the years!

How to connect with Jamie Allen…

I am always happy to chat and answer any questions, so feel free to pop me a line on LinkedIn.

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