England and Manchester footballers Phil Foden and Ella Toone have teamed up with Nike, JD Sports and the Football Beyond Borders charity to launch a brand new all-weather football surface in Moss Side.
The community football pitch dubbed ‘Move to Zero Manchester’ at the Millennium Powerhouse in Moss Side was set up to provide more opportunities for the next generation to play.
The pitch’s name derives from Nike’s ‘Move to Zero’ campaign, which strives to achieve zero carbon and waste level to help protect the future of sport and give back to the local community. Mint.
Credit: Football Beyond Borders (via Twitter)
As for the pitch itself, the surface is made with what the brand calls ‘Nike Grind‘: an initiative which dates back to 1992 and repurposes old boots and trainers that would otherwise end up in landfill by turning them into recycled materials for new products and pitches like this.
A great use for your old and unwanted kicks.
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Unveiling the pitch and a number of activities, Football Beyond Borders (FBB) hosted a festival for the Moss Side community, celebrating the local area’s culture and identity as a hive of “movement and collaboration for creativity and play.”
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ATTENDED THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE COMMUNITY FOOTBALL PITCH IN MANCHESTER ❤️
Having both @PhilFoden & @ellatoone99 present made it extra special for all the young people who have a new space to do the thing the love 👏🏽
These included a series of workshops, food stalls and dynamic learning opportunities for young people to understand the impact the local community can have. This is at the core of FBB’s youth movement and overarching ethos.
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Of course, no celebration of youth and Mancunian sporting culture would be complete without some local heroes — that’s where surprise appearances from Manchester City winger Phil Foden and Manchester United midfielder Ella Toone come in.
The Nike athletes and England internationals were joined by significant community leaders to officially unveil the space. What better heroes could you ask for than a starring City player and a Euro 2020-winning Lioness?
But the Manc duo weren’t the only notable figures there on the day, as the likes of Commonwealth bronze medalist Naomi Metzger, artist Pete Obsolete; dance troupe Impact Dance, health food collective Melanin Markets and James Gregory of Families Against Violence were all in attendance.
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As for FBB, their work helping redevelop pitches and youth educational services across the country through sport has been benefitting local communities since the charity was founded back in 2014.
Similar campaigns started with regenerating a community pitch at their Brixton HQ in 2015 and in 2020 they started with companies like Nike and JD to see how they could bring similar rejuvenation to local youth communities in Manchester.
Football Beyond Borders CEO and co-founder Jack Reynolds said that the charity is committed to continuing its work in local areas.
He said in a statement: “Community football pitches are hubs for people. They bring locals together, enable relationships to forge, and they provide an outlet for young people to play and be youthful.”
Featured Image — Nike x JD x Football Beyond Borders
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
18th October 2022 
