Sport

Gary Neville and Steven Gerrard help pay for England Women’s Deaf football team ahead of World Championships

They aren't the only ones showing their support either.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 11th May 2023

Football legends Gary Neville and Steven Gerrard have donated £10,000 to the England Women’s Deaf Football Team to help pay for their upcoming tournament.

The World Deaf Football Championships, first started back in 2008, are taking place in Malaysia this September and the England Women’s team needs £100,000 to take part in the competition.

However, sadly the team no longer receives money from the FA after they shifted funding to the futsal team — who, prior to winning the Euros in 2022, were also financially restricted in 2019 — and so must fundraise in other ways if they want to enter the tournament which runs every four years.

With that in mind, Gary Neville and Steven Gerrard generously donated £5,000 each to help send them to the championships in just a few months’ time. Classy stuff, lads.

Neville and Gerrard have put a total of £10,000 towards sending the Women’s deaf team to the WDFC 2023, just the fourth time the competition has been held.

Neville previously donated £20,000 in 2017 to help send Great Britain’s Deaf Football Team to the Deaflympics in Turkey and has shown his support for struggling teams in the past, contributing a significant amount to West Yorkshire club Brighouse Town and their survival fund back in 2020.

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Speaking to BBC Radio London, current player Claire Stancliffe expressed her gratitude to the England legends, saying that “it’s really nice to have their support” and insisting that she only got in touch with the former Manchester United fullback to ask him to share their appeal on his socials.

Nevertheless, after the Deaflympian and four-time bronze medallist once again made the 48-year-old aware of their financial obstacles, he wasted no time in offering to put £5k towards the fund, with the Liverpool legend quickly matching the donation.

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They are the only footballing figures to offer their support either, as the likes of Everton defender Conor Coady, Crystal Palace women’s player Leigh Nicol and many more have encouraged others to help spread the word and hopefully do their bit.

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Informing the team about the withdrawal of funding last month, the FA justified its position by stating that they wanted to provide more regular international opportunities for players and that numerous conversations with players, staff and other figures in the deaf football community were taken into consideration.

Stancliffe, 34, said, “I’m really disappointed in the decision but at the same time I respect it, I’m just trying to focus on what we need to do now to get the team there.”

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The World Championships start on 20 September and end on 8 October, but even with multiple fundraisers now running, they are still a little ways off the target with just 46 days now left to go.

You can donate to the England Women’s Deaf Football Team fundraiser via GoFundMe or contribute to the Deaf Sports and Football Foundation (DSFF) directly HERE.

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

Featured Image — Sky Sports/Simon Harris (via Twitter)/BT Sport

Sport

Four players set to leave Salford City as club confirms retained list

Danny Jones Danny Jones Salford City FC players leaving end of contract 2024/25 season

Salford City FC have announced their retained list for next season as this year’s EFL campaigns come to a close, with four players confirmed to be leaving the club.

It’s been another up-and-down year for the Ammies, with Karl Robinson’s side ever so narrowly missing out on the playoff places despite looking like they might just sneak in only a fortnight ago.

The Greater Manchester club has somewhat plateaued following their streak of promotions in the immediate years following the Class of ’92 buyout – even Gary Neville himself admits they’ve “lost some momentum” – but with another new era beckoning, who knows what the next few years hold?

One thing that we do now know is which players will be staying at the Peninsula Stadium, with Salford City revealing the four names set to depart upon the contract expiry this summer.

Following a sixth consecutive League Two season, Robinson and the administration will no doubt be looking to once again freshen up the squad in the coming transfer window.

That being said, while the likes of ‘Player of the Year’ Ossama Ashley, and fellow first-team stars Haji Mnoga and Luke Garbutt all seeing their deals extended into at the very least 2025-26, not mention seven new contracts offered to new players, they will be losing some key players and fan favouries.

In adiditon to long-serving 34-year-old Matthew Lund moving on after four years at the club, attacker Conor McAleny will also be departing along with midfielder Ryan Watson.

Right-back Liam Shephard has also decided to join those parting ways with the Ammies head of next season, with many fans gutted to see the popular squad member heading for the exit door.

The club are going about sharing farewell videos for each of them, knowing full well a few will feel tought to take for some supporters.

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Crediting all of them for the years of service, especially given the roles that many of them played in helping Salford reach the playoffs in the 2022/23 season, the club expressed their gratitude to the senior quarter for their contributions.

Meanwhile, in terms of the youth set-up, there due to be even more departures, including the likes of Callum Morton, Jez Davies, Marcus Dackers, Sandro Da Costa and more.

You find out the full details from the 24/25 retained list HERE.

With a second modern takeover of Salford City having just been confirmed this month, the new ownership group will be looking regain some of that monentum Neville talked about and bring in replacements for the outgoings as they look to continue climbing the pyramid.

Salford City FC have been bought out by a new consortium
Several Salford City players might be leaving but there are some very signifciant new arrivals at Moor Lane. Happy, Ammies?

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Featured Images — Salford City (supplied)

Sport

Ex-Salford Red Devils CEO steps back in to try and save the club from collapse

Danny Jones Danny Jones Salford Red Devils former CEO Paul King returns to cover debts

Former Salford Red Devils CEO, Paul King, has flown in to help his former employers as the rugby league side hopes to rescue itself from the brink of complete collapse.

Paul King only left Salford Community Stadium and the Red Devils in February, being replaced by Chris Irwin, but since the latter resigned this month and promises of financial security still look far from coming good, the 54-year-old is back in the fold and trying his best to save the 152-year-old club.

Salford were the subject of a Swiss takeover earlier this year, which looked like it might beckon a whole new era for the long-established local team, but despite claims of clearing debts and righting the ship by businessman Dario Berta, it turns out that little has been done to fix the books since then.

In fact, as it turns out, Salford’s line of credit only appears to have been extended as the Devils are thought to be rather deep in the red (a rather cruel irony) with payday loans taken out to pay player wages and keep them afloat. With that in mind, King has come back to do what he can.

former salford red devils ceo paul king paid players wages for the last 3 months
While the new consortium is yet to deliver key funds, King is taking the fall. (Credit: Salford Red Devils via Facebook screenshot)

As per multiple outlets, King has now returned to Salford in an ‘advisory role’, consulting on how best to navigate the persisting choppy water surrounding the club.

Although the club has so far refrained from making any kind of announcement of their own – the last being the confirmation of chief exec Irwin’s departure on 6 May – it’s understood that King has actually been continuing to help cover costs ever since he left.

The man himself has downplayed his impact thus far, stating that he’s simply “been pulled in from gardening leave to advise, that’s all”, insisting that “it’s all very short-term.”

However, despite no longer being actually a full-time member of staff at Salford Red Devils, he is said to have been paying player wages for the last three months and

Even more concerningly, though it will no doubt touch fans to hear, he is also believed to have put his own home up as collateral against what the club owes to lenders; it’s not even the first time he’s done this, either.

In a modern sporting era where owners, consortiums, nation states and so on are often criticised over their stewardship of clubs, this kind of generosity and hustle from a man who isn’t even technically employed by the business has to be applauded.

That being said, it’s no surprise that their struggles off the pitch have translated to performances as well, with Salford sitting at the bottom of the Betfred Super League table, having notched just one win this season. Some stability is needed, and soon.

Here’s hoping it all pays off – a community club that’s been around so long and means so much to the local area cannot be allowed to disintegrate.

Meanwhile, over in the EFL, neighbours Salford City FC have also seen their ownership change hands as they hope to avoid similar uncertainty in this next chapter. The sporting-obsessed city and its countless supporters have no intention of giving up on their teams.

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Featured Images — Anthony Parkes (via Geograph)/Salford Red Devils

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