A charity football match played last month in honour of the Manchester Arena attack victims and their families has raised over £80,000.
With this year marking five years since the bombing that saw 22 people tragically lose their lives on 22 May 2017, the Manchester Remembers match was played ahead of the anniversary last month at Manchester City’s Academy Stadium – with star-studded teams of ex-professionals and celebrities lacing up their boots for the occasion.
Famous Manc comedian Jason Manford played for the celebrity team on the day, alongside Bolton-born actor, comedian, and TV presenter Paddy McGuiness, while ex-Manchester City stars Shaun Goater and Trevor Sinclair featured for the former players team, along with other ex-professionals Paul Merson, Matt Le Tissier, Wes Brown, and Clayton Blackmore.
‘King of the Jungle’ Danny Miller, Love Island star Callum Jones, and comedian Steve Royle also played for the celebrities team.
Former Manchester City players Peter Reid and Joe Royle were in charge of coaching the celebrities’ team, and longtime football manager ‘Big Sam’ Allardyce headed up the team of ex-players.
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The Manchester Remembers match was played on Sunday 3 April at Manchester City’s Academy Stadium / Credit: MCR Remembers (via Twitter)
The Manchester Remembers match was put together by local business owner Paul Corrigan and firefighter Aaron Lee – who was one of the first responders to attend the scene of the incident, and who had already raised over £40,000 for charities and also established the ‘Hive 22 Running Club’ in the aftermath of the Arena attack.
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And now there is a further £82,492 from the match to add to the already-impressive total.
Taking to Twitter to announce the final fundraising total now that it’s all been tallied up, MCR Remembers thanked everyone “for all your support”, and confirmed that all benefitting charities will receive £16,498 each.
Worth the wait…
£8️⃣2️⃣,4️⃣9️⃣2️⃣.0️⃣0️⃣ !!
Eighty Two Thousand, Four Hundred and Ninety Two pounds !!!
— The McrRemembers Foundation™️⚽️🐝 (@McrRemembers) May 16, 2022
The funds were raised for five different charities set up by the families of the victims of the Manchester Arena attack – Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust, Liv’s Trust, The Megan Hurley Foundation, The Remembering Nell Foundation, and Eilidh’s Trust.
“What happened on that night shocked not just Manchester but the world,” Aaron Lee said ahead of the match.
“We had to do something special and remember those that were so sadly taken from their families and felt launching a city-wide football game would help us raise funds that could really make a difference.”
Drama Call opening first-ever flagship shop in Manchester
Danny Jones
Streetwear superstars Drama Call are opening their new flagship store and first-ever permanent site in Manchester city centre this weekend.
Expect massive queues and lots turning up wearing the increasingly recognisable starry logo.
Already a much-loved brand not just here in 0161 but across the nation at large, the native independent business turned street-style favourites and UK fashion phenomenon are no strangers to HUGE pop-ups in their hometown.
However, they’ve never had a mainstay location anywhere in the country, let alone Greater Manchester – well, until now, that is…
Credit: Press shots (supplied)
Debuting in the Northern Quarter this Sunday, the venue located on Tib Street will effectively serve as Drama Call‘s new HQ.
The local label has done everything from popping up vans with Manc rapper Aitch to collaborating with Man United for multiple limited edition collections, so it only felt like a matter of time before they’d make a big brick-and-mortar splash in our fair city.
Most notably, they’re also taking over the same unit as the Sheep Shop, a former skate shop and legendary urban clothing tastemaker of the 90s; they were one of the first places in Britain to stock famous names like Stüssy, Supreme, Carhartt, The North Face and many more.
With that in mind, it feels only fitting that they carry on the trendsetting tradition from the same premises, and just spitting distance from the likes of Note, as well.
And that’s not all, either: before the full launch, they’ll also be holding an exclusive cash-only shirt swap event, where a limited number of certain collector’s items will be sold for as little as £10.
Other things to note are the additions of signed vinyls by homegrown artists such as the aforementioned Aitch and even The Smiths.
In fact, the store will also feature strictly Mancunian exclusives, too.
Everything from polo shirts and tees to branded mugs, matchboxes and other accessories will be available in-store only.
NQ is bound to be buzzing across launch weekend, with doors officially opening to the public on Sunday, and we wouldn’t be surprised if you see people camping outside the front well ahead of time.
What a moment the Manc shopping scene is having right now.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via Pear)
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Andy Burnham explains why Number 10 North is so important as it officially ‘opens for business’
Emily Sergeant
Andy Burnham has explained his key reasons for launching Number 10 North as it officially ‘opens for business’ this week.
You may remember that earlier last month, Andy Burnham revealed he had intentions to create a Number 10 North if he was to become Prime Minister, with the new base expected to be a ‘dominant driver of the UK’s economy’ once it was officially up and running… and now, fast forward to today, Number 10 North is officially ‘open for business’.
Operating from Heron House in Manchester city centre, as previously reported on, Number 10 North will be the Government’s new ‘situation room for growth’.
It also brings the ‘levers’ of local economic growth and devolution together under one roof for the first time ever.
Number 10 North has officially ‘opened for business’ / Credit: gov.uk (via Wikimedia Commons)
With the Prime Minister expected to work from Number 10 North each week, so that decisions about the country’s economic future will no longer exclusively be made in Westminster, and with other ministers also working from there on a regular basis, the Government says the move underlines its determination to ‘do things differently’.
Now that Number 10 North has officially opened, Andy Burnham and his fellow ministers have explained why this move is so important for not just Manchester, but the north as a whole.
“For 40 years, power and resources have been sucked into the centre, and too many communities have felt forgotten, without the attention and investment they deserve,” explained Andy Burnham.
“Number 10 North will change that by putting more power into every postcode across the entire country. It will be the situation room for making Britain better, the place we use to get power out of Westminster, into the hands of people at a local level, so that they can turn things around.
“The days of Whitehall resisting devolution are over, for good.”
First Secretary Louise Haigh added: “Today marks a fundamental re-balancing of where power sits in our country. Number 10 North has been set up to drive economic growth in every postcode and put power in the hands of every community.
Emily Sergeant -
18th May 2022 
