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 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.”
⌛️ The countdown is on for 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵'𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 – 𝗡𝗼 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘀 💪
It was France for training this week, and yet another fundraising milestone has been reached 😍
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.
Greater Manchester stadiums included in the bid to host the Women’s World Cup confirmed
Danny Jones
The locations for the official UK bid to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup have been revealed, along with the Greater Manchester football stadiums chosen for the honour.
Not exactly a ground-breaking spoiler, but the FA did make a somewhat curious choice when they shared the news.
In case you hadn’t heard the news earlier this year, our nation has officially thrown its hat into the ring for the Women’s World Cup (WWC) in 2035, with England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all set to offer up their arenas as part of the record-breaking proposal.
Naturally, a region as footy-obsessed as ours and with two of the biggest stadiums in the country was always going to be included, but as mentioned, there was a particular detail that lots of people quickly noticed following the announcement.
Yes, in a slightly bizarre but ultimately innocuous turn of events, Etihad Stadium – home of Manchester City FC – has been selected, as was the world-famous ‘Theatre of Dreams‘, the only difference being that it was listed separately from the city itself.
Instead, Man United’s iconic home turf, Old Trafford, has been listed as just that: in Trafford, specifically, as opposed to simply being listed in the same section as its sky blue counterpart.
Now, while it’s true that all 10 boroughs have their own identity, culture (not to mention some subscribing to still being part of Lancashire or even Cheshire), it did strike us and others as a bit odd to put that rather iconic and equally historic venue down as almost separate from the city.
Many would argue that one of the things Manchester is best known for around the globe is the team of Red Devils that play at that ground.
Naturally, ‘Cityzens‘ have had their fair share of fun with the post and, conversely, there’s been plenty of retorts regarding ‘supporters from Stockport’, as you would expect…
Nevertheless, we’re just glad to see the Etihad and Old Trafford continuing to cater to some of the biggest dates on the sporting calendar.
Some have actually argued that the region should have been given opportunities to host more stadiums and/or games as part of the market pitch, as the likes of both Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic’s stadiums were floated as viable or even better alternatives, capacity-wise.
Either way, with the 22 venues that have been selected for the UK’s bid for the 2035 Women’s World Cup and us Brits currently unopposed in the race to secure the tournament, the FA are going all-in for the 48-team competition, which would be “the biggest single-sport event ever staged in the UK.”
You can read more down below.
Our shared ambition: to host the largest single-sport event ever staged in the UK, and the first FIFA World Cup in this country since 1966.#AllTogetherpic.twitter.com/y6GOPEPDdG
Stockport County’s Christmas dinner in a cup returns for 2025 as part of new festive food range
Danny Jones
We can’t believe it’s rolled around again already, but with the festive period well underway and the big day just a few weeks away, Stockport County have brought back their viral ‘Xmas dinner in a cup’for 2025.
Better still, the County Courtyard has seen some new Christmas specials added to its food menu, too.
The local football club are absolutely flying in League One at the moment, having spent plenty of time at the top of the table already and still well and truly contesting those promotion/play-off spots.
If you’re a Stopfordian, that’s plenty of cause for celebration right there, but with the Christmas dinner in a cup also up for grabs once more, the holiday season literally couldn’t taste any better right now.
For those who’ve never seen it before, it’s exactly what it says on the tin – well, cup: a little Sunday dinner in a County-branded takeaway coffee cup, complete with a healthy pour of gravy and pretty much all the trimmings you could hope for.
Yes, including sprouts, because all of you who still don’t touch them need to grow up already.
Currently priced at just £4.50, not only does it contain virtually all the major food groups (barring the customary matchday pints, of course), it might just be one of the healthiest and best value-for-money bits of footy scran around – certainly in Greater Manchester, anyway.
But, as mentioned, that’s not all this year; Stockport are also serving up the new festive hot dog and even a ‘leftover Christmas curry’ in a bowl, which might even be more warming on a cold night at Edgeley Park than the Xmas dinner in a cup or clinging onto a flask of Bovril.
Anyone else craving that curry with a cheeky bit of bubble and squeak now?
It’s also worth noting that you’ll only be able to get one of those on Boxing Day, by the way, when the Hatters host Lincoln City in the league.
As for the rest of it, County fans can get their hands on this seasonal scran for the first time this year at the weekend when Dave Challinor’s side take on Barnsley at 12:30pm, and two of the three specials will then be served at home every game over the holiday period.
Speaking of random Christmas food creations, there’s another limited-time-only and potentially divisive example that we’ll also be sampling this December…
Danny Jones -
13th August 2024 
