Sport

A new membership-based community is helping bring the world of sports and business together

Not just a networking group but a community of like-minded people who all love sport.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 16th February 2024

A brand-new membership-based community and networking group aiming to bring people from the world of sports and business all around the North West together has just launched and you can be a part of it.

Let us introduce you to The Changing Room: a new networking hub and platform specialising in helping those involved in non-league and semi-professional sports, as well as those who might have recently left their discipline/been released, better manage the demands of running their own businesses or day jobs.

Hoping to create opportunities both on and off the pitch around the region, this isn’t just a members-only group, it’s a community of like-minded people trying to learn from each other, expand their personal and professional portfolios, as well better understand their everyday environments.

As a company that regularly tries to bridge the gap between the media industry and sports, we know all about the challenges balancing the two can be at times, so we’re very excited to be collaborating with this promising new platform.

Be it football, rugby, cricket or otherwise, there are business connections to be made everywhere.

What does The Changing Room membership include?

Being a member of The Changing Room and its social network comes with a whole host of advantages designed to support your sporting and business pursuits, no matter what level you’re at.

ADVERTISEMENT
  • Access to the group — You will have the opportunity to interact and network with like-minded individuals, creating synergies between sport and business.
  • Personal profile page on the website — Showcase your sporting and business achievements to a wider audience.
  • Monthly meetings and social events — Attend informative and engaging meetings and social events designed to facilitate networking and learning.
  • The Changing Room Club benefits card — Enjoy a multitude of discounts from selected retailers, sportswear brands, hospitality services, and restaurants.
  • Community engagement — Be part of the dedicated TCR WhatsApp community, opening doors to daily interactions and connections.
  • Referral scheme — Gain access to TCR referral scheme, expanding your business network and potential clientele.
  • Networking opportunities — Meet keynote/guest speakers from various business and sports industries, gaining insights from their experiences.
  • Social media PR — Benefit from social media promotional activity featuring you and your business.
  • Exclusive events — Participate in key events such as golf days, paddle tennis competitions and hospitality opportunities.
  • Exclusive opportunities and recruitment days and Expo Games — Access to exclusive opportunities and our recruitment days, providing career and business advancement options.
  • Business advice — Receive invaluable advice from top-level owners and directors, helping push your business to the next level.

Beyond these specific perks, The Changing Room club members will also benefit from an increased level of exposure for their own projects as well as a new way to socialise in general. Unlike lots of other professional networking groups, these lot believe in mixing business with pleasure.

We’ll cheers to that.

ADVERTISEMENT
The Changing Room will help connect business and sportspeople all over Greater Manchester, Cheshire and the North West.

Read more:

Membership is available to anyone interested in joining who has strong sporting links. The annual membership is £180 and your monthly subscription is £50, (totalling £780 annually) or an upfront payment of £730 for the year (saving £50).

Once you’re part of The Changing Room, you’ll be able to convene and network with other members at regular monthly intervals across various sports clubs around the region, kicking off with the launch event at Morleys Hall in Astley, Greater Manchester on Wednesday, 28 February.

Promising a welcoming atmosphere to all the newcomers, guest speakers and more, not to mention plenty of opportunities for people to connect in a relaxed and sociable manner from the off, people can arrive from 6:30pm.

ADVERTISEMENT

To find out more about The Changing Room, their launch event and to potentially sign up, click HERE.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Changing Room (supplied)

Sport

Manchester City reveal trailer for upcoming Together: 4-In-A-Row documentary

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester City four in a row documentary

Man City have revealed the first trailer for their new Together: 4-In-A-Row documentary, charting the course of their record-breaking four consecutive Premier League titles.

The follow-up to the Together: Treble Winners series, City‘s highly-anticipated documentary dropped earlier this year following their historic 2023/23 season, the movie will follow the same concept and relive the Manchester club’s latest unprecedented feat from 20/21 onwards.

While the previous TV outing was picked up by Netflix, the latest instalment is set to arrive at the end of this month exclusively on CITY+.

You can see the trailer for Together: 4-In-A-Row down below:

The new Man City documentary will feature exclusive interviews with manager extraordinaire, Pep Guardiola, Ballon d’Or winner and Champions League-winning goalscorer Rodri, club captain Kyle Walker and many more.

There will also be footage including soon-to-depart Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain, as well as the City Football Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Ferran Soriano.

Swapping the series format for a feature-length film this time, this is arguably CITY+‘s biggest release to date, with the content subscription service typically offering full match replays, youth academy coverage, as well as smaller documentaries and podcasts.

The streaming service (accessible via the website, Man City app and smart TVs) was only started back in 2024 but now four years later, rather fittingly, it’s set to document the most important years in the club’s history.

We’ve seen multiple Man City docs in recent years – their 2018 All Or Nothing Amazon Prime Video mini-series being the first – but the launch of the Together franchise back in April has helped put City Studios, on the map.

The in-house entertainment arm, first set up in 2022, has even more ambitious plans for the coming years, with a huge deal to create multiple big-budget productions in collaboration with Sony.

City Football Group strike landmark deal with Sony for series of TV shows
Fans are getting even more behind-the-scenes content soon.

Gavin Johnson, Media Director at CFG, said of the trailer reveal: “We’re delighted to announce the release of our latest offering in the ‘Together’ collection.

“Produced once again by our award-winning in-house production and creative hub, City Studios, the documentary film offers our fans a true insight into the team and how they achieved the historic four-in-a-row success.”

Set to be released at 6pm UK time on 20 November, Together: 4-In-A-Row will only be able to watch via the CITY+ platform.

So, if you’re a Blue who wants to relive the last four years of non-stop silverware, you can enjoy a 30-day free trial, after which CITY+ is just £4.99 a month. An annual subscription can be purchased for £34.99 a year or for £30 with an Official Cityzens membership/season ticket.

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Manchester City

Sport

Man United legend Eric Cantona stuns Manchester artists with surprise visit to GRIT Studios

Danny Jones Danny Jones Eric Cantona surprises Manchester artists at GRIT Studios

Artists working at a Manchester studio were left speechless by a recent surprise visit from none other than Man United legend Eric Cantona.

The former United forward’s love for the city has never waned no matter how many years have gone by and as a lover of all things art, be it music, painting, acting or what he did with a football, he never fails to engage with local culture whenever he’s here.

He may not be based here anymore but the Frenchman – who knows a thing or two about art given his past acting jobs, newfound music career and previous showcases – still pays plenty of visits to 0161, including a recent unannounced one.

Cantona was back in the city centre this week to pay GRIT Studios resident Michael Browne, the artist who he collaborated with to create his National Football Museum exhibition last year, but the one thing Browne didn’t do was let the other people working in their city centre location he was coming.

GRIT Studios Manchester Stockport
Cantona pays Manchester art studio a surprise visit
Credit: GRIT Studios Manchester (supplied)

To be fair, anyone would double-take if they saw Eric Cantona walk into a room, so this was quite a memorable occasion for the unsuspecting artists.

After working on 2023’s From Moss Side to Marseille with Browne, the 58-year-old has been reimmersing himself in the world of Manchester art and there aren’t many places that epitomise that more than GRIT, who are based in Stockport with a second studio at Great Northern Warehouse.

Landing in Manchester from Paris, Cantona arrived in the late morning and ended up staying for over an hour, taking time to meet a number of artists and tour the space with co-founder John Macaulay.

Clearly impressed with their work and genuinely enthused by the sense of community within the local grassroots art scene, it was a special visit for everyone involved.

John, a die-hard Man United fan who has seen the Red Devils play in 25 countries before going on to set up GRIT Studios and much-loved Art Battle MCR with his wife Sophie, said: “It’s full circle for me having watched Eric play all over the world, it’s true honour that he’s flown in to see our talented artists.”

eric cantona back in manchester
eric cantona at manchester art studio
Credit: Supplied

Read more:

Artists spent time chatting with Eric and talking through their creative processes; those present included mosaic artist, Francis Thorrington, plein air (outdoor) artist, Sketch MCR – a.k.a. Ben Rock – painters Jodie Silverman, Helen Davies and Sophie Macaulay, as well as woodworker Gus Riddell.

Also a fellow United fan, Francis said he simply “couldn’t stop smiling the whole time” after Cantona described his work as wonderful.

Eric looked at home when he picked up and started strumming Chris Pollin’s hand-made guitars, which are handcrafted from driftwood and take hundreds of hours of work.

The enigmatic sports personality turned pop philosopher and cultural figure clearly enjoyed the visit. His final message was that it was refreshing to see a place where “art was for everyone” not just the elite.

As for Browne, he is sworn to secrecy on his next project but let’s just say you can expect some big announcements in the coming weeks. As for GRIT, you can visit one of their open days this Saturday, 16 November and make sure to check out their Stockport studio if you’re in the area.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — GRIT Studios (supplied)

More Sport

The Manchester 24 Hour Charity Run Against Homelessness 2024

City Centre

Manchester’s 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness returns with its biggest venue host yet for 2024

Gary Lineker leaving Match of the Day at the end of the season

News

BBC confirm Gary Lineker will leave Match of the Day at the end of the season

Director of Football Chris Casper leaves Salford City FC

Salford

Salford City’s Director of Football has left the club after more than half a decade

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches