Sport

Atherton Charity Shield: Greater Manchester’s most important football tournament

Two men from Wigan have set up a sports event that could change lives forever.

The Manc The Manc - 9th April 2021

A football tournament unlike any other will kick off in Wigan this summer.

It might be made up of amateur players and little-known teams, but the Atherton Charity Shield is arguably the most important football tournament to take place all year.

In June, three days’ worth of fixtures will go towards raising crucial funds and food donations that could change lives for the better.

Atherton-born sports student Chris Colgan developed the idea after watching England star Marcus Rashford battle child poverty in Manchester and beyond – realising he could use his love of football to help deprived families in his own local community.

Chris worked with Manchester Creative Collective Marketing (MCCM) owner Richard Renda to set up a sports tournament that would raise money for those who needed it – earning the backing of FareShare, Sky Sports, Andy Burnham, Mitre Sports, SikSilk Clothing, and the Rio Ferdinand Foundation in the process.

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As plans for the tournament were put in place, an opportunity arose to support another cause: Raising awareness of the journey of a young girl called Holly.

The daughter of Chris and Richard’s mutual friend, Holly was diagnosed with a very rare genetic condition called Bloom Syndrome in 2020 – causing immune deficiency, growth impairment and sensitivity to sunlight. Not long after Holly’s diagnosis, she was sadly diagnosed with a Wilm’s Tumour (kidney cancer).

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Holly’s parents Mark and Jenny have since begun a research campaign to find information about the impact this will have on Holly throughout her life – and what can be done to help.

Now, as well as battling food poverty, the Atherton Charity Shield will generate money for Holly and her family to attend the vital Bloom Syndrome conference in Chicago.

Chris said: “‘It’s been crazy the amount of kind comments and support we’ve been shown by everyone.

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“We still have more really exciting news to announce and some great guests for the event. We are pushing out information daily via Facebook, Insta and Twitter so that’s where people can find out more.”

Miranda Kaunang, head of development at FareShare Greater Manchester, said the organisation “couldn’t be more proud to be involved with the Atherton Charity Shield tournament.”

“The impact of COVID has meant that the need for our service has never been higher, and we’ve doubled the amount of food we distribute in response to the crisis,” she stated.

“Unfortunately, the reality is the hard work is far from over with demand unlikely to relent within the coming months.

“That’s why it’s more important than ever that charities and communities work together to support the most vulnerable.

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“Chris’ efforts are a shining example of what can be achieved when we come together with a common aim.”

The Atherton Charity Shield will take place from June 25-27 at Atherton LR’s Crilly Park and tickets go on sale soon.

Teams, event information and ticket updates will all be announced via the Atherton Charity Shield social channels:

Facebook: @AthertonCharityShield
Instagram: @athertonshield
Twitter: @AthertonShield

Sport

The five-a-side app that’s helping people find pick-up football games in Manchester and all over the UK

The Manc The Manc Footy Addicts five-a-side app Manchester

Having a kick about is one of life’s simple pleasures. Just grab a ball, your boots, some mates and you’re good to go, right? That is until the inevitable excuses pop up on WhatsApp with an hour to go and suddenly you’re scrambling for a ringer to keep your so-called ‘weekly’ five-a-side match alive.

Another night is followed by the usual “Sorry, maybe next week” message and you’re left wondering why getting a footy game going with few friends isn’t as easy as it was when you were younger. If only there was an app for that…

For those in the know, there is one name that’s actually helping make sorting a regular five-a-side night or even a quick pick-up game in and around Greater Manchester that little bit easier and more social than ever.

Footy Addicts, the football-based social networking platform, are on a mission to make the beautiful game easier and more inclusive across the region and the UK at large.

five-a-side games manchester
Credit: Footy Addicts (via Facebook)

The app, founded by self-proclaimed footy addicts Konstantinos Gkortsilas, Danny Taeidy and Jonathan Suarez, aims to make quality football matches — be it a straight-forward five/seven-a-side game or a bigger affair — happen across Great Britain and, if they carry on how they’re going, the world.

When you sit and think about it, it’s one of these ideas where you wonder, ‘How hasn’t this been thought of before?’ From the first unofficial pick-up game back in 2010 to what has now grown to a community of over 210,000 users across 140 active locations, the proof is in the pudding.

Not only is the demand obviously there but it just goes to show how important opportunity and accessibility are when it comes to playing the game so many of us love.

Footy Addicts’ biggest goal is ensuring that wherever you are, you’ll only be a button away from a game — and the stats don’t lie. Now growing by a rate of more than 5,000 new users each month with players from over 200 different countries, it just goes to show how a simple kickabout can help enrich diverse communities a game at a time.

Whether you are a first-timer, Sunday league Messi or ‘could’ve gone pro if it wasn’t for my knee’, there’s a spot on the team sheet for all abilities.

Just to highlight some of the regulars in the Manchester scene, this could be your squad lining up alongside you next time you stick a bib on under the lights: lifelong Burnley supporter James is still going strong at 70 and nutmegging students. You can’t drag him away from the pitch.

Marc used to ply his trade in the Premier League but now gets his football fix in a more casual setting and Nadia is a semi-pro female footballer who’ll happily show up the best of them.

The importance of running around after a ball for an hour or so is far more than the scoreline; it’s like therapy for the mind and body. The escapism, confidence and community that blossoms when you step on a pitch is what keeps the world hooked on the beautiful game. And, that’s not to mention the obvious physical benefits.

Footy Addicts are also brilliant at spotlighting the sporting stories that mean so much to local communities — including here in Manchester.

Read more:

Available to download from the Google Play and Apple App Store, or by simply using their website, it’s not quite as easy as clicking your fingers but it’s close enough.

It goes without saying that Footy Addicts organise games all over Manchester. Just whack in your postcode and see if there is a place and time that suits you. It’s also pay-as-you-play, with no monthly subscriptions or signing-on fees, just dust off your boots and head down. 

Prices start at only £3.50 a game with the average price of around a fiver, which in this day and age is great value for footy.

See you on a pitch in Greater Manchester sometime soon.

footy addicts manchester
womens football games manchester
There are literally tonnes of Footy Addicts games taking place around Greater Manchester every week.

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

Featured Images — Footy Addicts

Sport

André Onana’s emotional reaction at full-time turns fan frustration into sympathy after another Man United UCL collapse

Danny Jones Danny Jones Andre Onana's reaction at full-time after Galatasaray mistake

André Onana has had a rocky start to life at Manchester United and while supporters have been left swearing from the stands and at their TV screens several times already this season, his reaction at full-time following his latest howler has seen much of that frustration turn to sympathy.

The Cameroonian goalkeeper made yet another costly error on Wednesday night when his lack of concentration saw Man United’s 2-0 lead, thanks to two very fine finishes from Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes, somehow turn to 3-1 and eventually 3-3 — two of which were very preventable.

Onana was left unsighted by the wall and wrong-footed for the first goal which was whipped in from a Hakim Ziyech free-kick, but was left blushing even more when an almost identical delivery was fired at him in the second half, only to effectively push it into his own net and reduce the Red Devil’s two-goal cushion to one.

As commentator Darren Fletcher and pretty much everyone watching said at the time, “What on Earth is the Manchester United keeper doing there?!”. It really doesn’t make for great viewing…

Onana has now conceded more goals than anyone in the Champions League, setting another unwanted record for United.

Having now allowed the Turkish side to get back into the game in a similarly avoidable turnaround as in the reverse leg at Old Trafford, when the 27-year-old’s misplaced pass out from the back resulted in Casemiro getting sent off in a last-ditch tackle and United conceding a third after going down to 10 men.

Although mistakes like these could be forgiven in isolation, as one-offs or more widely spread out over a longer period of — many Reds had grown accustomed to watching their previous number one, David de Gea, making a gaffe or two in his time — for all of them to happen in the space of just a few months doesn’t help.

In the Champions League alone, Onana has seven individual unforced errors leading to goals (four more than any other player) and in a knockout competition against the best teams in Europe, you simply don’t have enough games to make up for mistakes like that.

That being said, as opposed to the usual reaction from supporters on social media that we have seen so far this season, a large proportion of fans and neutrals alike weren’t berating him but were instead expressing their sympathy — especially after seeing Onana‘s visibly upset reaction after full-time:

Onana’s reaction at full-time said it all: he’s more upset with himself than anyone.

Read more:

Writing up a piece after yet another UCL collapse from Erik ten Hag’s side, with Onana having more than a hand in virtually all of them, The Athletic described the mocking the misfortune shot-stopper as a “mix of the exceptional and the excruciating — much like Manchester United“.

On the other hand, not everyone was so forgiving and to further sum up how things are going for the United keeper, both in terms of his bad luck and the pity plenty are now starting to feel for him, there were countless posts online dubbing him “the new [Harry] Maguire”, who had previously been a scapegoat and a target of abuse at both club and international level.

In contrast, while the England centre-backs’s performances have started to improve, a goalkeeper’s mistakes are always going to be even more highlighted as although defenders usually have the man between the sticks as a last stand, when it goes wrong it usually results in conceding a goal.

Here’s hoping the Onana pile-on doesn’t start to mirror his teammate’s, as the level of abuse Maguire was receiving at its height was simply ridiculous. You can watch the highlights of Galatasaray vs Man United in full down below:

United are all but out of the Champions League.

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

Featured Images — TNT Sports

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