Sport

An inspirational young Altrincham fan is helping raise money for special needs sports with an incredible fundraiser

The world needs more legends like this.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 13th August 2024

An inspirational young football fan from the Greater Manchester area is taking on an incredible running challenge this summer in an effort to help bring sports for those with disabilities to his local team, Altrincham FC.

21-year-old Joseph Adams is an Altrincham superfan with a massive heart and an even bigger love of the beautiful game, and he will soon be tasking himself with a demanding feat of fitness in the hope of helping bring football to his home club for supporters who have special needs.

Diagnosed with Down Syndrome, Joseph has taken part in many adapted sports from football and dancing to skiing, rugby and more, even winning multiple gold medals including one at the 2023 UK Down Syndrome National Swimming Championships.

It’s safe to say that this is a cause very near and dear to both Joe and his family; so, in an effort to help deliver support for special needs activities through Alty FC, the die-hard young Robins fan is setting himself the task of running ten 10ks in a total of ten different countries over the course of just five days.

Joseph Adams Altrincham FC
joseph's challenge no limits running fundraiser
Joseph has had a defiant and determined attitude to everything since he was a kid. (Credit: GoFundMe/Supplied)

Taking on what he has called the ‘No Limits‘ challenge in the coming weeks, Joseph is aiming to raise a total of £250,000 in order for Altrincham to hire a dedicated disability sports officer role this year.

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As a non-league football club and even with the recent backing from more than 20 new investors, the local Trafford-based outfit obviously doesn’t have unlimited resources, so fundraising efforts like these are their only option.

With that in mind, Joe, his parents and two sisters will be completing the running challenge in less than a week as part of the club’s growing Community Sports charity arm to help establish a programme for children and adults with special needs.

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Having already raised well over a whopping £176k of his overall target, his ultimate goal is to broaden the programme to provide further support, training and employment opportunities for adults with disabilities across the local area and beyond Altrincham too.

Speaking about the excitement of his upcoming challenge, Joseph said: “I’m really looking forward to visiting lots of countries and running with my family and I can’t wait for a beer at the finish! […] Think Race Across the World meets Hardest Geezer! I don’t know if I can do it but I am going to try my best.”

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Dad Phil Adams said of his inspiring son: “When Joseph was born, his Mum and I were told about all the things he wouldn’t be able to do because he has Down Syndrome, but we vowed to take a no-limits approach to what he could do and 21 years later, we couldn’t be prouder of him…

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“Ironically, he hates running and hadn’t really tried before taking on this latest challenge but what we’ve all learned over the years is that Joseph has been able to achieve a huge amount more than we might have expected when we ignore perceived wisdom.”

A number of Manchester-based businesses such as Castore, Travel Counsellors, Houlihan Lokey, DMR, FK Group and Farrat have lent their support to Joseph’s Challenge and the No Limits campaign, including Altrincham FC’s own official front-of-shirt sponsor, AO.

Founder and CEO, John Roberts alongside his wife Sally, have donated a generous £30k between them to the cause, with Roberts commenting: “The sky really is the limit and Joseph is living that philosophy in spades. He’s an inspiring young man and every one of AO’s 3,000 employees wishes him every success.

The youngster’s incredible journey will conclude as he passes the finish line of the Altrincham 10k on Sunday, 1 September. You can do your bit to help by donating to Joseph Adams and his incredible running challenge, which will help provide important access to sport, HERE.

It has to be said, there is a very wholesome buzz around the J Davidson Stadium lately.

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Featured Images — Handouts/AO (supplied)

Sport

Academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving Manchester City on a permanent transfer

Danny Jones Danny Jones Oscar Bobb leaving Man City for Fulham done deal

Manchester City youth academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving the club after sealing a move to Fulham FC.

Despite plenty of loan interest throughout the January transfer window, the Man City attacker has secured a switch to the in-form West London team on a permanent basis.

Bobb looked increasingly likely to leave in some capacity following the arrival of another winger in the form of instant hit, Antoine Semenyo, but it now looks as though his departure is all but confirmed, bar an imminent official announcement.

As reported by Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the agreement has now been reached between the two clubs pending a full medical today (Thursday, 29 January).

According to Romano, Fulham will pay Man City approximately £27 million for Bobb’s services, who becomes the latest addition in what has already been a fairly busy period of recruitment.

He goes on to add that “City also mantain [a] 20% sell-on clause, matching rights and future control on the player based on his decision.”

There is no suggestion of a buy-back clause at this time, but given his age and having already made a fair few appearances for Pep Guardiola‘s first team, it wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility to see him return to the club one day.

Bobb also arrives at Craven Cottage following the exit of multiple wingers and offensive options, including Adama Traore, ex-Man United product Andreas Pereira and Arsenal youngster, Reiss Nelson, whose loan deal has expired and has signed another temporary deal at local rivals, Brentford.

A similar scenario played out with James Trafford at the start of this season, though it now looks as though the young keeper could once again leave before the end of the month. Many City supporters understandably have some mixed feelings about both situations.

The young Norwegian winger joined the Etihad Campus back in 2023 and went on to contribute a handful of goals and assists, despite limited appearances and some very unfortunate injury issues.

Only seven months ago, his soon-to-be former parent club released a short video charting his return from the sidelines after fracturing his leg – a setback which kept him out for roughly five months.

Plenty of fans have quickly placed him in the so-called ‘what if?’ category of players, and given that he’s still just 22 years old and has already impressed on a number of ocassions for such a big club, we wouldn’t be surprised if he goes on to have a very exciting career.

Can you see the Blues bringing in or letting anyone else go before deadline day?

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Featured Images — pantkiewicz (via Flickr)/El Loko (via WikiCommons)/Man City (via YouTube)

Sport

Tyson Fury has officially revealed his comeback fight after coming out of ‘retirement’ once again

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Tyson Fury has officially announced the opponent for his comeback fight after yet again returning to professional boxing.

Fury supposedly ‘retired’ for seemingly the umpteenth time last January following his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk the month prior, and some even believed it might have actually been his final outing.

Nevertheless, ‘The Gypsy King’ said he was coming out of retirement once more earlier this year, and now his next match-up has been confirmed.

Revealing the other contender as Aslanbek Makhmudo, the fight will be aired live on Netflix only.

Partnered exclusively with boxing magazine, Ring, the bout between Fury and Makhmudo is the latest big fight night to be picked up by the streaming giants.

The most recent example was, obviously, Anthony Joshua’s brutal knockout of influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul this past December.

Makhmudo, just a year younger than his opposite number, is a fellow experienced heavyweight based mainly out of Canada with a decent pedigree of his own.

The Russian, simply known as ‘The Lion’, has a record of 21 wins – more than half of those coming by KO.

With that in mind, he presents a potentially exciting prospect for the famous Manchester fighter, who hasn’t won a proper competitive fight since the defence of his WBC belt against Derek Chisora in December 2022.

Similarly, this should at least see two very well-seasoned pros going head to head.

He did fight MMA veteran Francis Ngannou in a one-off exhibition, but there was no title or anything tangible on the line.

In fact, even Fury himself admitted it was a “below par” showing.

Many fight fans would argue that there haven’t been enough proper big heavyweight dates since Fury vs Usyk, and even then, we are still yet to get a date for the all-but fully confirmed final fight of the trilogy.

Fury himself did state that the conclusion of their clash is scheduled for this April, but nothing official has been set in stone by any promotion or venue and the new date means it’s even less likely to be any time soon; meanwhile, plenty are still hoping for AJ vs Fury.

The 37-year-old will take on Makhmudo on Saturday, 11 April, and you can bet the world will be watching.

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Featured Images — FurociTV (via YouTube)/Netflix/Ring Magazine/@Mike_DiDomizio(via X)

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