Jason Manford and Paddy McGuinness are among the local stars set to play in a charity football match honouring the Manchester Arena attack victims.
With this year marking the fifth anniversary of the bombing that saw 22 people tragically lose their lives on 22 May 2017, the match, which is named ‘Manchester Remembers’, has been put together by local business owner Paul Corrigan and firefighter Aaron Lee – who has already raised over £40,000 for charities and also established the ‘Hive 22 Running Club’ in the aftermath of the Arena attack – and will feature will feature star-studded teams of ex-professionals and celebrities.
The match will be played on Sunday 3 April at Manchester City’s Academy Stadium, and will be raising funds for five different charities set up by the victim’s families – Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust, Liv’s Trust, The Megan Hurley Foundation, The Remembering Nell Foundation, and Eilidh’s Trust.
Former Manchester City players Peter Reid and Joe Royle will be in charge of coaching the celebrities’ team, while longtime football ‘Big Sam’ Allardyce will head up the team of ex-players.
On April 3rd, our Academy Stadium will host ‘Manchester Remembers’, a charity football match between footballing legends and celebrities to commemorate the victims of the Manchester Arena attack 💙
Famous Manc comedian Jason Manford will play for the celebrity team, alongside Bolton-born actor, comedian, and TV presenter Paddy McGuiness, while ex-City stars Shaun Goater and Trevor Sinclair will feature for the former players team, along with other ex-professionals Paul Merson and Clayton Blackmore.
‘King of the Jungle’ Danny Miller, Love Island star Callum Jones, and comedian Steve Royle will also star for the celebrities.
Manchester United legend Wes Brown has also put his name down for the ex-players team.
Event organiser Aaron was one of the first responders on the scene at the Manchester Arena five years ago, and since then, has continued to have a close relationship with the victims’ families and has taken part in several activities to raise funds for the charities.
The match has been organised by firefighter Aaron Lee, and local business owner Paul Corrigan / Credit: Manchester Remembers
He explained: “Since the attack we’ve raised over £44,000 for charities that directly support the victims’ families and young people across Greater Manchester, and the Manchester Remembers football match is a massive opportunity to try and double that total.
“What happened on that night shocked not just Manchester but the world.
“As we approach the five-year anniversary, Paul and I knew 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.”
Tickets are now on sale, with adult tickets priced at £20, concessionary tickets £10, and hospitality packages starting from £100, which include a three-course meal, drinks before and after the game, and the chance to take part in a raffle where all proceeds will be donated to the five charities the match is supporting.
You can get your hands on both standard and hospitality tickets from the Manchester City website here.
Featured Image – Manchester Remembers
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Kalvin Phillips is reportedly set to be reintegrated into the Manchester City squad
Danny Jones
Long-exiled Manchester City player Kalvin Phillips is reportedly on the verge of being reintegrated into Pep Guardiola’s squad this season.
The ex-Leeds United star, who signed for the Blues back in 2022, has still only made just 16 appearances for the club, but could now be eyeing up a potential renaissance.
Man City have made plenty of signings this year, but with a number of outgoings and several injuries in key positions, it looks like there could be an avenue for the one-time England international to fight his way back into the team.
As per Telegraph Sport‘s Mike McGrath, Kalvin Phillips is set to be reintroduced to City’s 25-man Premier League selection; the question is, can he make it into a first-team XI?
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Kalvin Phillips has chance to resurrect career at the Etihad Stadium after failed loan spells with Ipswich and West Ham
According to McGrath, Phillips will be “given a chance to resurrect his career at the Etihad Stadium” with the meat and potatoes of the 2025/26 campaign still yet to get properly underway.
Now 29, the Yorkshireman is well and truly within the crucial ‘prime’ years as an athlete, and after such an extended period on the sidelines, he’ll be more motivated than anyone to get his career back on track.
The central defensive midfielder – who was formerly considered a key cog in the middle of the park for Leeds – has spent two loan spells away from the Etihad, but neither really worked out for the undeniably talented footballer.
Having joined West Ham for the latter portion of the 23/24 term and spending the last 12 months on loan at struggling Ipswich Town, his time at both clubs was pretty forgettable, punctuated by little more than a couple of unfortunate red cards and more time on the bench.
Speaking to Sky Sports fairly recently, he confessed that the last couple of years have been very difficult and was visibly emotional discussing his struggles since moving to Man City.
It’s also worth noting that Guardiola himself has admitted to feeling “so bad” for Kalvin Phillips’ situation – perhaps why he now looks like he could be given a second chance.
CDM-wise, Rodri and Nico González are considered the go-to options, but Stockport-born Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovačić have also been used in the role.
Once again, although Man City face somewhat of an injury crisis ahead of the Manchester derby this weekend, any prolonged absences could at least see an opportunity arise for the forgotten man.
What do you make of Kalvin Phillips’ chances of being restored to the Manchester City squad and maybe even putting himself back into national team contention ahead of the World Cup?
Featured Images — Sky Sports (screenshot via YouTube)/pantkiewicz (via Flickr)
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Brand new venue confirmed as the host of The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness
Danny Jones
The magnificent Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness is back this year, and with the 2025 event fast approaching, they have announced arguably their biggest host venue yet, setting up in camp in a brand new food and drink hall.
Having housed the incredible charity gathering from Freight Island last year, it was always going to take some beating this time around, but somehow they’ve managed to.
The annual relay run in aid of Greater Manchester’s homeless community will be taking place at none other than the city centre’s recently unveiled House of Social, with the building’s wider student living quarters serving as the perfect fit for the initiative first thought up by university friends back in 2018.
Announced this week, House of Social will be teaming up with the wider First Street neighbourhood to look after the hordes of incredible runners this year.
Jamie Hills, Development Director at Ask Real Estate – who operate the ever-growing First St complex – said of volunteering as this year’s hosts: “First Street is thrilled to welcome and fuel the incredible runners of The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness.
“As the city’s hotspot for community events and culture, we’re proud to be a place where community thrives, so we’re incredibly excited to support this important initiative. With our fantastic on-site amenities like House of Social, we’re ready to keep those participating powered up and going strong!”
As for co-founder Tom Lewis, speaking to The Manc, he said: “We’re excited to return for our 7th edition, with Manchester being our flagship event.
“Through being hosted at House of Social in First Street, we’re hoping to make this year’s edition the best and biggest yet, aiming to raise £50,000 for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity Scheme, ‘A Bed Every Night’.
“We’d love to see you all at the event, plus bring your friends and workplace to. There are paces for everyone, including walking laps.”
In November 2024, not only did the fundraising phenomenon mark its first-ever expansion with an inaugural event in Birmingham, but it also surpassed £50,000 here in Manchester alone, and is now set to make debuts in a trio of new cities.
Tom went on to add: “I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve managed to accomplish as a team with starting up three more events across the country this year and expanding Manchester to a scale we couldn’t have dreamed of when we started out seven years ago.”
We here at The Manc Group have been helping The MCR 24 Run Against Homelessness for several years now, and have put in plenty of those 5k laps between ourselves, so you can bank on us being there to put in some more hard yards this November.
Even better still, we’ve already roped in our friends over at The Hoot to help out with the maiden 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness in Leeds, and we hope to see lots more of you chipping in across the North and beyond.
Here’s to helping rough sleepers find beds and get back on their feet all over the country.
The @mcr24hourrun is expanding in 2025 and is heading to Leeds for the first time. 🏃♂️
And they're not the only city making their debut this year either… 👊
Emily Sergeant -
11th February 2022 
