With the end of the season fast approaching, we’re already looking towards the 2024/25 campaign and ready to fall in love with a whole new raft of football kits, so when we heard a special Oasis-inspired Manchester City shirt is rumoured to be on the way, our ears pricked up.
The love affair between the legendary Britpop and Man City is long-standing, with both Gallaghers and the band as a whole collaborating on everything from kit launches, adverts, documentaries and the legendary Maine Road gigs down the years, not to mention countless unofficial fashion crossovers.
If you see someone out and about wearing a bit of band merch, you’ll often see them wearing it in their beloved sky blue, but for fans of the Burnage boys and the club, it sounds like you’ll soon be able to buy an official Oasis x Man City kit.
According to reliable football fashion outlet, Footy Headlines, the treble-winners could be following up what would be a record-breaking fourth consecutive title with a limited edition Oasis-themed fourth kit for the 30th anniversary of their seminal debut album, Definitely Maybe.
— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) August 6, 2016
Also reported by The Daily Star, the special kit which would be in rotation for the 24/25 season proper is said to have been designed with help from Noel Gallagher himself, who remains a massive blue and close friend of the club.
ADVERTISEMENT
Tunes like ‘Blue Moon Rising’ which if often sprinkled into the matchday playlist and the large cut-out of Pep Guardiola on stage at his Wythenshawe Park gig should tell you enough.
Set to be the first time City have manufactured a fourth playing kit as opposed to other one-off limited edition jerseys, the Star goes on to cite a Gallagher family source who claims that “it’s been in the works for a couple of months and Noel was absolutely chuffed to be asked.
ADVERTISEMENT
“He’s watched City since the 1970s and the final design is almost there. [He] once had a pop at Liam when he started his clothing line, Pretty Green, but this is entirely different. Both are mad City fans but it is Noel who was asked.” As for LG himself, he is not thought to be involved in the collab.
Sure to become an instant hit with fans and a collector’s item in the footy fashion world — we’ve already seen how well Man United’s Stone Roses crossover has turned out — you can expect these things to sell out in the blink of an eye if it comes to fruition.
You already see plenty of City and United merch across Greater Manchester on a day-to-day basis but we dare say the Oasis element would make this even more desirable to Mancs who aren’t usually as inclined to get their colours on.
ADVERTISEMENT
We haven’t had even a glimpse of what this potential Oasis x Man City kit might look like, we don’t think it’s a particularly bold prediction to guess it’ll be light blue, but be sure to keep your eyes peeled on Footy Headlines — they’re usually pretty accurate with this stuff.
Elsewhere for the Definitely Maybe 30th anniversary, Liam will be doing his own bit to honour the groundbreaking record by playing the tracklist in full across three huge shows.
Salford City FC have been bought out by a new consortium
Danny Jones
Another era beckons for Salford City as a buyout of the Greater Manchester football club by a new consortiumhas been announced.
Well, sort of.
Salford City FC were famously the subject of a joint takeover by Singaporean businessman Peter Lim and members of Manchester United’s Class of ’92 over a decade ago, and now 11 years on from that last milestone moment in their history, the local side has a new administration once again.
It is a fresh chapter for the club, but supporters will be glad to hear that there will also be some continuity and key throughline of consistency among some of those at the top.
Salford City announces that the Club has been acquired by a new ownership group led by David Beckham and Gary Neville, and includes US-based businessman Declan Kelly and Lord Mervyn Davies who will both serve as new Co-Chairs of the Club’s board.
Led by Man United legends Gary Neville and David Beckham, who have been involved with Salford since 2014, the new nine-member consortium consists of the Dream Sports Group – a leading sports technology company based in India – along with a number of other key figures.
One of those is Lord Mervyn Davies, a former Labour MP and Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Small Business, who still serves as a trade envoy between the UK and Sri Lanka.
Another is Irish-American entrepreneur Declan Kelly, who is Chairman and CEO of The Consello Group, a global advisory and investing firm.
While the previous co-owners and fellow Class of ’92 United graduates are no longer shareholders at Moor Lane, it is said they will still play important roles at the club.
As the official statement reads, “The acquisition includes a commitment by the new shareholders to invest significantly in the Club, the team and its facilities”, meaning there will funds will likely be sweet aside not only for some healthy transfer business but more updates to the Peninsula Stadium.
Commenting on the announcement, Neville said: “I’m passionate about Salford City. This is a unique partnership with a diverse range of minds and expertise, held together by a love of football.
“Football will come first, however, it’s critical that we drive the Club towards sustainability in the next 4-5 years. I can’t wait for the next part of this journey.”
Meanwhile, Beckham went on to add in the excitable Instagram post seen above: “Salford played such an important role in my life growing up… It’s where I trained with United alongside my best mates every day, it’s where I bought my first house and where me and Victoria lived.
“I’m so proud to be part of a new ownership group alongside my mate [Neville] as we begin the next chapter of Salford’s journey. Football is at the heart of this community and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the Ammies.
Chester Zoo’s sellout 10k charity run returns this summer with three new routes
Emily Sergeant
Chester Zoo has announced that its popular Run For Nature is back again this summer, and this year, there’s three new routes to run.
The UK’s biggest charity zoo saw success with similar sold-out events in 2023 and 2024, and is now looking for 2,500 runners to sign up for one of the North West’s most unique athletic experiences when it returns later this year – with all funds raised from the popular event going towards efforts to protect highly-endangered giraffes in Africa.
Participants will this year take on a brand-new route winding through more of the zoo than ever before, and enjoying glimpses of elephants, lemurs, and other incredible species along the way, before heading out into the picturesque Cheshire countryside.
Chester Zoo is inviting runners of all abilities to take part this year, as there’s a new 5km run added to the usual 10km route, and even a one-mile ‘Zoom’ fun run for kids aged four-15.
With only 2,500 places up for grabs, organisers say the event is expected to sell out quickly, just like it has the past two years, as runners race to support a very special cause.
All proceeds from this year’s Run For Nature in September will go directly towards protecting Nubian giraffes in East Africa – a species which has seen drastic population declines in the wild due to habitat loss, poaching and conflict with humans.
Chester Zoo’s sellout 10k charity run is returning this summer with three new routes / Credit: Chester Zoo
Runners will receive a wooden medal at the finish line and free entry to the zoo for the remainder of the day, so they can relax and celebrate their achievement among 30,000 amazing animals.
If that didn’t all sound brilliant enough as it is, top fundraisers from the day will also be in with a chance of winning some exciting prizes too, including annual zoo memberships, animal adoptions, and even special behind-the-scenes zoo experiences.
“We’re thrilled to be bringing back Run For Nature for a third incredible year,” explained Sarah Jones, who is the Fundraising Lead at Chester Zoo.
“We’ve now doubled the distance runners spend inside the zoo, so they’ll pass by even more iconic animals, [making it] a really special experience you won’t get anywhere else.”
Run For Nature is back at Chester Zoo this Sunday 21 September, and you can find out more and sign up to take part here.
Danny Jones -
7th March 2024 
