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.
Bolton’s bid for the Ryder Cup has received a big boost
Danny Jones
Bolton’s much-anticipated bid for the Ryder Cup has received an added boost of positivity and optimism, which could prove key in bringing the competition to the town.
It also starts with an improvement to local infrastructure, which it appears that the borough will benefit from, regardless of whether or not they win the bid.
Talk of Bolton throwing their hat in the ring to hopefully host the Ryder Cup first began rumbling around during the pandemic, before ramping up even further in 2023, and is now gathering a little more speed.
And a lot of it could come down to upgraded travel links in the form of an even longer-rumoured new road connecting the M61-M6 junctions, which would need to be completed in time for the tournament – along with a fresh big golf course, too.
A bid is being prepared for Bolton to host the Ryder Cup in 2035. Previously, there was an option to hold it in 2031. The golf course would be built on the Hulton Park estate near Westhoughton. This is what the ancient parkland looks like now ..https://t.co/Bie8ikyEkppic.twitter.com/Y3Dq8MFfLk
While the plans to transform the land around Hulton Park have been in the pipeline for some time, the case for creating easier routes between Bolton, Wigan and the surrounding area was pitched as far back as the post-WWII period.
As for the Ryder Cup itself, it hasn’t been hosted in England for decades; the last time an associated event was held was in 2002 at Warwickshire, and it goes without saying that it would be a huge win not just for Greater Manchester but the North in general.
In fact, the wider masterplan that makes up part of the bid doesn’t just include the new £70 million link road, but also feeds into GM’s overall Good Growth Fund, which looks set to almost double thanks to more investment in the National Wealth Fund.
Put simply, the sum of around £2bn set aside for grants and funding across the country – including Bolton’s 2035 Ryder Cup bid – could see huge revenues brought in.
Regarding Bolton, were they to clinch from competitors like the London Golf Club in Sevenoaks, over in Kent and Luton Hoo Hotel and Spa in Bedfordshire, it’s estimated that it could generate more than £1.2bn for the local economy.
Besides a new premium golfing venue, the M61-M6 link road and the recently announced Metrolink expansion into Bolton, the regional funding allocation already factors in various bits of future property development, including more housing and subsequent job creation.
Put simply, it could be transformational for Bolton and beyond. However, it still requires them to win the bid on the basis of the GMCA, Bolton Council, developers, and other partners delivering everything promised, not to mention on time for the biennial Ryder Cup slot up for grabs.
Despite initial rejection and still plenty of pushback, Peel Land are promising three things for the land: “Restoration. Sustainability. World-class golf.”
Mayor Andy Burnham has insisted it is an opportunity not only to improve life, leisure and business in the old Lancashire stronghold, but “as well as the new jobs and tourist spend the Ryder Cup would deliver, there’s also a chance to deliver a lasting legacy.”
What do you make of the grand vision thus far, and for Boltonians, is this something you’re fully behind? Speaking of big sporting events, another one is coming up in Manchester city centre this weekend.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures/CGIs (via Peel Land)
Sport
The 2026 World Breaking Finals of the UK B-Boy Championships are coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
It’s official: the UK B-Boy Championships are returning to Manchester this year for the 2026 World Breaking Finals, in what is a special anniversary for the annual tournament.
Celebrating three decades since the inaugural event this summer, the UK B-Boy Champs will once again remind fans why they still remain among the gold standard for competitive breakdancing.
With elite breakers and dance battlers from more than 20 different countries in attendance – and plenty of contestants from each, at that – it’s going to be a real global showcase of talent.
Returning to Manchester once again, we can’t wait to see breakdancing take over the Factory International concourse and wider campus.
Anyone in the world will know that the city also hosted another big European equivalent back in 2022 on behalf of the 2022 World DanceSport Federation, but the UK B-Boy Championships have a passionate following of their own.
This also happens to be the 30th anniversary of the event, so it’s a momentous occasion on many levels.
With live music from not only classic artists and legendary MCs, but artists for the future too, there’ll be plenty of tunes and impressive moves from start to finish.
Coming to Aviva Studios this summer, they’ve billed it quite short and sweet: “The sickest breakers on the planet will battle in a once-in-a-generation celebration of Hip-Hop culture.”
They’re promising “High-stakes rivalries. Gravity-defying moves”, and “Unforgettable performances”, adding, “This isn’t just another battle – this is the Champs legacy in motion.”
Credit: Supplied
The World Breaking Finals get underway in Manchester on 16 August at Aviva Studios, and it’s all set up to be arguably the biggest yet.
General admission went on sale this past Friday, 13 March, with adult tickets starting from only £20 and kids from just a tenner.
As we mentioned before, this isn’t the only big sporting date coming to Manchester this year, with the likes of the British basketball’s annual Cup Finals concluding at AO Arena and another big Super League set to for a grandstand finish at our other big indoor entertainment venue…
Danny Jones -
18th August 2025 
