Sport
Did you know Manchester City has an esports team?
You may not have noticed, but esports has become just as respected and almost as popular as traditional real-world sports.
Esports athletes train for and compete in major tournaments all around the world, and many countries have their own esports teams. Do not underestimate how big esports is becoming. According to Statista, the industry will generate a revenue of around £1.5 billion by 2022.
One growing trend in recent years has been for established football clubs to launch esports teams in an effort to keep up with the millennial generation. Most football club esports teams play FIFA football video games, but some play other games. For example, FC Copenhagen plays in Counter-Strike competitions while Schalke 04 have played in League of Legends esports tournaments. As for our local Manchester City FC, the club has been competing in FIFA esports events since 2016.
An Overview of the Manchester City Esports Team
Manchester City began creating its own esports team when it signed Kieran Brown in 2016. The club soon started competing in the FIFA eWorld Cup, which includes playing video games from Electronic Arts’ FIFA franchise. The FIFA eWorld Cup structure is similar to the real-life World Cup in that it includes qualification and knockout stages. People even bet on the outcomes of the games.
While many people enjoy playing online puzzle games, video games, and MMORPGs, as well as casino games like those available at Casumo UK, few have what it takes to become an esports superstar. But Manchester City now has two dedicated players who are regarded as some of the greatest esports athletes in the world: Shaun “Shellzz” Springette and Ryan Pessoa. Shellzz represents Manchester City by playing games on Xbox while Pessoa represents the club by playing games on PlayStation. They represent Manchester City at major esports events around the world. City also now has esports teams based in South Korea and China.
Since the esports team’s founding, they have experienced successes and losses in a similar vein to the main Man City club. But the esports team has most definitely made large strides forwards in recent times to enhance its standing in the world of esports. After City began collaborating with its social football partner Nexen in South Korea, the club started competing in numerous competitions, including the global FUT Champions Cup. In 2019, City went on to collaborate with FaZe Clan, which is one of the largest and most popular esports organisations on the planet.
A New Season Brings New Shirts
It is obvious that Manchester City is serious about its esports team, as is evident with the launch of bespoke esports shirts for its professional FIFA players to wear in the current 2020/2021 season. The Puma shirts are the club’s first for esports. They feature a paisley design that was inspired by Man City’s third kit. Puma has confirmed that it will be continuing to produce more products for the Manchester City esports team over the course of this year.
Manchester Is Backing the Rise of Esports
It is not just Manchester City football club taking esports seriously. Manchester, the city itself, is also backing the rise of the industry. For example, the company behind the renowned online esports site GGRecon is based in Manchester, and Manchester University started providing an intercollegiate esports competition in the spring of 2020. The university is now equipped with state-of-the-art gaming stations in two conference centres. Players compete in video game competitions like League of Legends, Super Smash Bros., and Rocket League. Maybe soon, Manchester University will create FIFA esports players who are good enough to be part of the Manchester City esports team.
If you’d like to find out more, check out ufabet.
Sport
Manchester United reject offers for Mason Greenwood as rep says he ‘should be allowed to move forward with his young life’
Danny Jones
Manchester United have reportedly rejected a number of offers for Mason Greenwood as the club continues their internal investigation into his behaviour.
The club have reportedly received a number of offers for the young forward from Turkish teams in recent weeks and months while Greenwood has been suspended from playing or training. He has yet to return to the sport after charges of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm were dropped.
The charges handed down in January 2022 were ultimately dropped last month when key witnesses withdrew, more than a year on from the incident that was widely circulated on social media.
Now, following a behind-the-scenes feature by The Athletic and ‘new material’ leading the Crown Prosecution Service to drop the case for the foreseeable, it seems United are now the only party still investigating Greenwood, with his own team and figures around the club pushing for a resolution.
Speaking to Laurie Whitwell as part of the piece, one of Greenwood’s representatives argued that there is “no real substance” to the allegations, them “a mix of old news, speculation, half-truths and completely untrue claims.”
He went on to say, “Mason is 21, he has been cleared and should be allowed the opportunity to rebuild and move forward with his young life.”
Another source is also said to have told the outlet that the youngster has been fundamentally changed by the experience, insisting that he “would run through a brick wall” to be back playing at United.
As for the club’s stance, it remains to be seen what their final decision on his future will be, but it was reported earlier this month that a potential return is still “firmly under consideration” and his number 11 shirt has not yet been vacated as many would have expected if he was set to move on.
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On the other hand, the article goes on to detail questions surrounding Greenwood’s conduct and general attitude during his relatively short time as a senior player too, the suggestion being that he was slacking in training because “he knew he was a good player”.
His attendance at Carrington is said to have been raised as an issue on more than one occasion and then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær often covered for training sessions and games he missed after failing to turn up to the team hotel for “unexplained absences”.
Another source who watched him play aged just 16 also went on to reveal that Bradford-born academy product “wasn’t shy about telling someone they were s***”, apparently even calling out Cristiano Ronaldo as “dead [finished]” when he was still at Real Madrid.
Greenwood played over 100 senior games for United and was widely considered one of the brightest young prospects in England, let alone the club, but the career trajectory he looked to be on is widely different from the problematic position he finds himself in now, regardless of any offers from abroad.
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Featured Image — Manchester United (Twitter)
Sport
Commentator Arlo White shows off what the Old Trafford gantry walk looks like
Danny Jones
Ever wondered what it’s like to be up in the gantry in a football stadium, say, Old Trafford? Well, we certainly have.
You see the odd shot of the commentators sat there on the telly from time to time but it never really gives much away either and, at some venues, it’s quite a ways up there. There’s a little bit of allure behind these mysterious parts of footy grounds that most fans will never get to see.
Unless you follow Arlo White on TikTok, that is.
After hours of mindless scrolling on the social media app, we stumbled across the well-known sports commentator‘s channel where he’s been showing off what it’s like to go in the gantry and one of them is his long walk to crow’s nest up at the Theatre of Dreams.
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Mystery revealed — pretty cool, right?
As it turns out, Arlo’s been doing these videos for a couple of years now, revealing how the gantry looks not only at Old Trafford but other big Premier League grounds too, such as down the road at the Etihad, Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, Tottenham Hotspurs’ sparkly new ground and many more.
Another reason we found ourselves stuck on his TikTok for so long was also because of the other behind-the-scenes details he reveals too, even shedding light on how he prepares for games: note-taking, data sheets, how keeps himself warm up there during those cold nights on comms and so on.
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Featured Image — Arlo White (via TikTok)
The Manc -
5th April 2021 
