Manchester is set for more exclusive sporting action as the Super League Basketball (SLB) cup finals are coming to the AO Arena.
Britain’s official basketball league has been through a prolonged period of uncertainty over the last couple of years, but the SLB now looks to be back on track.
Ahead of the 2025/26 Super League Basketball campaign kicking off this September, and Manchester set to host an NBA fixture – just the second time it’s been in our city and the first time in history a regular season game has been played here in the UK – it’s another sporting milestone for 0161.
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Combine that with the football now back underway, and it’s fair to say it’s going to be a busy few months for us Mancs.
Announcing the event this month, the confirmation of the host venue comes some 30 years after our very own Manchester Giants (now simply known as Manchester Basketball) first said hello to their old home ground, the AO Arena.
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The storied sports and entertainment stadium is still the site which attracted the biggest British basketball crowd ever when our local side took on the London Leopards.
It feels only fitting, therefore, that the legendary arena should host the Men’s and Women’s SLB Cup Finals in a blockbuster double-header on Sunday, 22 March 2026.
With the future of basketball in the UK now looking much more secure after a deal to allow overseas players to register for work visas was agreed, the climate surrounding the British circuit looks a lot healthier than it did at the start of the year.
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We are pleased to announce we have received confirmation from Basketball England that they will continue to process Governing Body Endorsements (GBEs) for SLB clubs, ahead of the new Super League season starting next month.
— Super League Basketball (@SprLeagueBballM) August 7, 2025
Speaking on the important breakthrough, Interim Independent Chair, Sanjay Bhandari MBE, said: “We’re grateful to the Home Office and BE for their clarification in resolving this key issue.
“Clubs have shown real ambition and determination throughout the summer, pushing ahead with roster plans in the face of uncertainty. Now that this issue has been resolved, we can all look ahead to what promises to be a thrilling season of SLB with a full fixture list to be announced in the coming weeks.”
The new official Super League Basketball season will commence now commence on 19 September. As for the finals, both the AO Arena and Manchester City Council (MCC) know how big a deal it is to have booked the games.
John Hacking, the MCC’s Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure, went on to add his own excited statement following the news, too.
“Manchester stands proudly at the forefront of British basketball, and we’re thrilled to welcome Super League Basketball to the AO Arena next year — a world-class venue in a city where elite competition, grassroots development, and community passion come together.
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“From vibrant outdoor courts in Hulme to elite fixtures at the National Basketball Performance Centre, Manchester is a city that understands and supports the game at every level.
“Hosting the SLB Cup Final, the showpiece of the premier professional league in the UK, is a powerful endorsement of our growing reputation, proving that we not only understand basketball – but champion it at every level.”
Tickets will be available pre-sale from Wednesday, 20 August, or you can wait to grab general admission next week (Wed, 27 Aug) right HERE.
Jamie Carragher delivers damning Ruben Amorim verdict as pressure piles on Man United boss
Danny Jones
Jamie Carragher has delivered a damning verdict on struggling manager Ruben Amorim, as he has declared that his time in Manchester “HAS to end” after more than 10 months at United.
The retired Liverpool and England player spoke on the situation at Man United and what the future holds for Amorim on Monday Night Football (MNF), joining Everton icon Duncan Ferguson on the punditry panel for Sky Sports.
While he is by no means the first to ponder how the Portuguese gaffer is still in post, his most recent comments are some of the strongest by a popular mainstream commentator thus far, and also further stick the boot in on what he thinks is a United administration that is rife with poor decision-making.
Both he and Ferguson were far from complimentary about the 40-year-old head coach, with Carragher going so far as to label his time at Old Trafford as “a disaster”, both for the club and, ultimately, his career moving forward.
"We are only waiting for the inevitable" 😶@Carra23 says Ruben Amorim's appointment as Manchester United manager has been a 'disaster' for both parties 😬 pic.twitter.com/WxZ9uJ0XxX
‘Carra’ goes on to state that he believes “we’re waiting for the inevitable” and it’s now simply a matter of whenINEOS decide to sack Amorim.
As you can see in the clip, the former defender says that he thinks there is almost an element of denial among the Man United administration at present, with the owners, CEO Omar Berrada and Director of Football Jason Wilcox having already backed him so heavily both publicly and in the transfer market, etc.
Despite the evaluations on MNF last night, Sky Sports reports that Amorim still has the backing of Sir Jim Ratcliffe; however, it arguably serves as even more evidence to Carragher’s point that the hierarchy perhaps just doesn’t want to concede what would be such a huge admission and/or defeat.
In fact, ex-Premier League striker Alan Shearer also shared a similar stance on the most recent episode of The Rest Is Football podcast, in which he said: “I genuinely believe that the owners or the people that are running the club at the minute have made that many errors in the last two years or 18 months since they’ve been there.
He went on to add that “it would look terrible to admit another error and sack him”, especially after so much faith, investment and carrying out so much restructuring around him as the focal point.
Unfortunately, even club legends like Wayne Rooney are starting to express their doubt as to whether Amorim is the right man for the United job, though he does shine more of a spotlight on the dressing room and believes that someone needs to – for lack of a better term – give the players a kick up the arse.
Rooney’s remarks have gone viral on social media, with many noting that you can ‘hear the pain’ in his voice when talking about his former home and how the institution has increasingly suffered in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson years.
For context, even with multiple unwanted records being broken under Erik ten Hag, Amorim has not only got his team off to the worst top-flight start since the 1992/93 campaign, but has just nine wins from a total of 33 league games in charge of the Red Devils.
Carra goes on to insist that not only does this have to end “as quickly as possible” for the sake of the club this season and moving forward, but if the one ‘next big thing’ and one-time potential Pep Guardiola successor is to keep his reputation intact. The question is, do you agree?
You can see Duncan Ferguson and Jamie Carragher’s full assessment of the current situation with Ruben Amorim and Manchester United as a whole down below.
Ricky Hatton’s family share details of 18 mile-long Memorial Route next week
Daisy Jackson
A Memorial Route to celebrate the life of Ricky Hatton has been shared by the late boxer’s family.
The legendary sportsman and local figure was found dead at his home earlier this month – he was just 46 years old.
His family have now shared details of a procession which will take place next week, offering fans a chance to come out and pay their respects to ‘The Hitman’.
The Memorial Route will span some 18 miles and pass landmarks that shaped Ricky Hatton throughout his life and career.
It will begin in Hyde, where he spent most of his life, before heading on to the city centre for a funeral service at Manchester Cathedral.
Entry to the service itself will be by invitation only, but the lengthy cortège will allow plenty of opportunity for locals to pay their respects before then.
The Memorial Route will then wind up at the Etihad Stadium.
Ricky’s family has shared a map of the route and confirmed that it will pass pubs, gyms and other landmarks loved by the boxing great.
It will begin at The Cheshire Cheese pub in Gee Cross before heading on to The Harehill Tavern, and then up to the site of the former The New Inn pub.
The latter is a pub that Ricky’s parents ran, and in which his parents built him a boxing gym in the basement.
Though the pub is now closed and has been turned into housing, it’s here that doves will be released in his honour.
The Ricky Hatton Memorial Route will move on from here to pause at énergie Fitness Hyde Ricky Hatton, then to pass Hyde Town Hall and Betta Bodies Gym.
From here, it will make its way into the city centre, passing the AO Arena and making its way to Manchester Cathedral.
After the funeral service, the procession will finish at the Etihad Stadium – the home of Ricky Hatton’s beloved Manchester City.
The procession will begin at 9.45am on Friday 10 October, and is expected to reach the Cathedral for midday.
Danny Jones -
18th August 2025 
