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.
— Atherton Charity Shield (@AthertonShield) April 6, 2021
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:
A Harry Styles-themed running event is coming to Manchester
Lydia Mastrolonardo
A Harry Styles-themed running event, ‘Styles-Athon,’ is coming to Manchester later this year.
Styles-Athon is set to be an action packed event, centring around all things Harry Styles – there’ll even be a live tribute performance and DJs blasting some of our favourite songs.
This event is brought to us by Run Fanatics, a group that focuses on creating memorable, themed running events, maintaining that ‘it’s not about how far or fast you run, it’s about how much fun you have.’
Styles-Athon is open to all abilities, with Run Fanatics priding themselves on inclusivity and their welcoming sense of community, offering both 5k and 10k routes to either walk, dance or run around. No matter what the running ability, this is a great day out for all Harry lovers.
Having successfully hosted other music-led events such as a Swift-Athon and an ABBA themed run in Manchester, we’re excited to have them back and keep the energy in Heaton Park ‘Watermelon Sugar’ high.
Why not try something new and contribute to a good cause while you’re at it – runners are welcome to run in support of a charity of their choosing.
Finally, some real motivation – run like you’re chasing Harry Styles.
What you can expect from Styles-Athon:
Live Harry Styles tribute performance and warm-up
DJ and professional sound team
Music guides running the course to keep the energy high
Exclusively Harry Styles music throughout the event
5K and 10K routes
Free professional event photos
Chip-timed race with official results
Exclusive Harry Styles finisher’s medal
Timings:
9am – 10am – Harry Styles tribute performance in the event village as runners arrive
10am – 10.10am – Harry Styles tribute to lead the warm-up hosted at the start area
10.15am – 10.25am – Getting race ready and walk to the start line
10.30am – 12pm – Race begins, with most runners finished by midday
Styles-Athon will be set up for around 1,000 attendees and is taking place in Heaton Park, on Saturday 19 September 2026.
Sign up HERE for either 5k and 10k options, tickets available from £29.99.
A documentary about Manchester’s famous homeless charity run has just dropped on YouTube
Danny Jones
An award-winning, short, and completely free documentary about Manchester’s famous annual homeless charity run is now available to watch in its entirety on YouTube.
Following a number of short snippets and teasers shared on social media over the last few months, the mini-doc by local moviemaker Gigi Shum was finally released on the streaming platform this past June.
Documenting not only the backstory of the inspiring Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness – now a much-loved annual tradition that has since spread to multiple other locations – it also gives a peek behind the curtain at those who organise it and the thousands of inspirational participants.
You can watch one of the most recent trailers here.
Capturing the sixth edition of the consecutive relay run, which spans the length of an entire day (which was another record-breaking year before being smashed in November 2025), Shum didn’t shy away from getting some laps done herself, but she also managed to shoot a truly important public access film.
A trail runner herself with a number of other works to her name already, including a well-supported Kickstarter revolving around neurodiversity, Gigi prides herself on “exploring the neglected truth in the world” through touching tales like The 24 Hour Run.
The adopted Manc and MetFilm School graduate’s roots may hail from Hong Kong, but she’s well and truly immersed and embedded herself in the Greater Manchester community through spotlighting local initiatives like this.
More importantly, this is much more than a student project: the bitesize 21:22 picture has been nominated and won at numerous festivals across the globe, including shortlists like the Florence Film Awards, a finalist in both the Independent Shorts and LEEDSflix competitions, among several others.
Aside from the obvious humanitarian and charitable angle of The 24 Hour Run‘s narrative, the talking heads with members of the team and numerous inspiring runners taking on incredible challenges on behalf of the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme make you proud to be from this part of the world.
You can watch it in full down below.
About the same run-time as most sitcom episodes – we’d argue this is a well more worthwhile watch.
Deeply moving stuff, we’re sure you’ll agree.
Speaking after a limited number of exclusive screenings, Gigi told The Manc: “What began as a question about why people run through the night transformed into an exploratory journey of human resilience, community, and active compassion on the streets of Manchester.”
It’s also worth mentioning that the young director and producer is doing lots more to contribute to the region, helping out as part of the Manchester Refugee Support Network (MRSN), supporting asylum seekers who may otherwise end up sleeping rough themselves.
They’ve raised hundreds of thousands for the likes of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity since the event’s inception back in 2019. Mayor Andy Burnham himself may be looking toward no.10 Downing Street moving forward, but fundraising on behalf of this organisation will always be a part of his legacy.
Better still, this dedicated crew of volunteers have also generated vital funds for similar causes in the likes of Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Hereford, and soon to be even more.
Set to debut in Liverpool later this year, another city renowned for backing themselves and looking after their own, we can’t wait to see how much more impact they make on the North West.
The Manc -
9th April 2021 
