Manchester United legend and former England international Rio Ferdinand is set to be given an OBE in a ceremony at Windsor Castle.
Ferdinand, 44, is being awarded the prestigious honour for his services to sport and charity work at an upcoming investiture ceremony at the royal residence, after being named on the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Birthday Honour List back in June.
The ex-player turned pundit not only enjoyed a decorated career as a top-flight footballer but has also been recognised for tackling issues like racism and inequality, as well as his youth work and social mobility initiatives through charitable organisations including his own, the Rio Ferdinand Foundation.
Moreover, Ferdinand has also been praised for shining a light on the struggles of bereavement and raising cancer awareness following the tragic death of his partner Rebecca Ellison back in 2015.
Married for six years, the couple had three children together before Rebecca sadly passed away following her battle with breast cancer.
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Two years on from her death, his heartwrenching 2017 documentary, Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum and Dad, received huge praise and even went on to win a BAFTA for Best Single Documentary in 2018.
Since then, Rio has continued to be open on subjects like cancer, depression and grief, holding talks with the likes of BBC and Google, as well as being an advocate for Child Bereavement UK alongside his current partner Kate.
The pundit, entrepreneur and philanthropist will be bestowed the OBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by the new Prince of Wales, Prince William.
Other individuals being awarded at the investiture ceremony include Olympian Adam Peaty, Stormont First Minister Arlene Foster and Australian comedian Adam Hills.
Murder investigation launched after two fatal stabbings in Moss Side
Emily Sergeant
A murder investigation has now been launched following two fatal stabbings in Moss Side this past weekend.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that officers were called to reports that two people that had suffered stab wounds on Great Southern Street, in the Moss Side area of Manchester, at around 5am yesterday morning (17 November), and when they arrived at the scene, two men were treated for their injuries.
Despite the best efforts of all emergency services involved, the two men were sadly both pronounced dead at the scene.
Since the shocking incident, a man who was arrested on suspicion of murder at the scene earlier yesterday has now been detained under the Mental Health Act after being assessed by medical professionals, GMP has confirmed.
Initial inquires are currently ongoing, and police say they believe that the suspect and one of the victims were known to each other.
GMP say they are treating this as an isolated incident with “no threat to the wider public”.
#UPDATE | The man who we arrested on suspicion of murder earlier today has now been detained under the Mental Health Act after being assessed by medical professionals. https://t.co/oe03SXv5oT
— Longsight & Moss Side Police (GMP) (@GMPLongsight) November 17, 2024
“We have launched a murder investigation, and detectives from our Major Incident Team continue to work diligently conducting CCTV trawls and speaking to witnesses to find out what has happened to the victims,” explained Chief Superintendent David Meeney, who is the District Commander for the City of Manchester division.
“We swiftly made an arrest and we are not looking for anyone else in relation to this.
“We understand the shockwaves that this devastating news will have caused in the local community and further afield across Greater Manchester.
“We have placed a number of local neighbourhood officers in the area to conduct visible patrols to reassure the community. If you have any concerns, please speak to them, they are there to lend a listening ear.
“I’d like to thank the local community who have all really pulled together and cooperated with our enquiries.”
Chief Superintendent Meeney asked that anyone who has information that may be able to assist enquiries to get in touch police, adding: “Please don’t assume that we know already, any small piece of information may be vital for our Major Incident Team detectives to find out what happened.”
Anyone with any information should contact GMP on 101 quoting 553 of 17/11/24.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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Manchester’s 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness raises a whopping £50k for ‘A Bed Every Night’
Danny Jones
This city can stand up and pat itself firmly on the back after this year’s 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness raised a whopping £50,000 for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity.
Manchester, you truly are incredible.
Returning for the sixth time last week, the 2024 edition of Manchester’s annual fundraising 24-hour relay event was a bumper year and then some, as not only did they cruise past their initial target of £25k but there were records all over the place for distances covered and attendance.
With well over 1,000 runners from all over the region descending upon host venue Freight Island and the city centre route at various different points during the 24 hours, we can well and truly say us Mancs ran our absolute socks off for a crucial cause.
Starting from 12pm on Wednesday, 13 November and running until noon the next day, those involved completed a total of 40 consecutive laps with some of those taking part barely stopping for even a moment’s rest in between each one, no matter how dark, cold or painful it got.
Translating to the equivalent of 1,666 beds for those in the Greater Manchester homeless community and counting, the team – comprised of 86 volunteers, hugely supportive overnight security staff and countless runners – managed to generate nearly double the amount of donations raked in last year.
If you want more context, prior to the 2024 event, The 24 Hour MCR Run had raised approximately £52,807.99 over the course of its entire first five years, meaning they’ve basically just matched that overall tally in just one day – albeit a very long one.
The frankly ridiculous tally couldn’t have been reached without help from donation-boosting sponsors AutoTrader and Together Co. (as well as help from Accenture and Mistral), but even without those additions, it was still by far and away the most successful year in the event’s history.
Countless runners booked time off or got laps done on their lunch hours, with many even coming after work on the Wednesday to then return and put in even more graft the following morning before their shift. Simply inspirational stuff.
Volunteers and run leaders like Marv Lucas, Shomak Chakrabarti, Jay Orris, Molly Glenister-Doyle and many others each smashed 100km or more; even The Manc managed to rack up 110k between us.
The Manc doing their bitRunners doing their 5k laps of Manchester city centreStill hundreds there come nightfallBurnham gave a rousing and emotional speech(Credit: The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness)
One Chorlton Runner, 55-year-old Ian Sharpe, set the men’s record with a simply staggering 150k, while Natasha Barclay smashed the women’s record with an unbelievable 117k just 10 days after running almost the same distance at The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness‘ debut event in Birmingham.
Joining for the busy 7pm, when hundreds of people from Greater Manchester-based run clubs, local businesses and more lined the steps of Freight Island, Mayor Andy Burnham was in attendance and admitted that the immense turnout brought “a tear to the eye.”
Labelling the ever-growing initiative a prime example of “Greater Manchester in action” and community engagement at its finest, it was visible to see how taken aback he was not only by the sheer number of runners but by how much the event has grown since its inception.
Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity (GMMC) CEO, Dr Fran Darlington-Pollock – who also put in some laps herself along with members of her team – was equally blown away by the 2024 event.
Talking to The Manc, she said: “The 24 Hour Run raises vital funds to support our flagship scheme, ‘A Bed Every Night’ (ABEN), providing far more than just a bed for the night but vital wrap-around support to help get people back on their feet.
“No one should have to spend a night on the streets, particularly as we head into the colder, harsher months. Raising funds for ABEN helps to get us closer to a point when we can say we have truly eradicated the need for rough sleeping.” Safe to say a big dint was put in the problem this month.
Speaking on an overwhelmingly successful 24 hours, co-founder Tom Lewis said: “I’m genuinely overwhelmed with the support we received for this year’s event and the Manchester running community and local companies coming together to help make a real impact in the region.
“As for the future, we plan to come back bigger than ever each year. We’ve set an ambitious precedent by doubling our fundraising total for the last few years, which could mean we’re looking at £100,000 next year. At the moment that seems like a dream, but I said the same about £50,000 and here we are.
It goes without saying that raising this much money for such a vitally important problem in the space of 24 hours is phenomenal and we couldn’t possibly be any prouder of all those who took part.
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The supplementary JustGiving page is actually still active for 2024, so you can still donate if you want to add to that already huge sum but, for now, well done to everyone and we’ll see you next year.
Danny Jones -
8th November 2022 
