Man United once again held their latest ‘Stadium Sleep Out’ this past weekend and managed to raise more than £30,000 to combat homelessness and help vulnerable young people across Greater Manchester.
Truly touching stuff at such a tough time of year.
Held at Old Trafford for the last couple of years, the club’s Sleep Out initiative sees hundreds of Reds, charitable volunteers and just well-meaning Mancs, in general, descend upon the Theatre of Dreams for a magical night under the stars and the floodlights of one of the most famous stadiums in world football.
Taking place last Friday, 15 November, the third-ever stadium sleepout saw more than 120 people – including Man United players and staff, both past and present – pull out their sleeping bags and spend the night up in the stands for this crucial cause.
Raising vital funds for Centrepoint, the UK-based charity that specialises in helping vulnerable young people who are either currently or at risk of sleeping rough, as well as the local homeless community at large, those taking part amassed another £30k through generous donations.
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Having raised £40k in 2023 and matched the same target amount since for their debut event back in 2021, which was instead held inside the Munich Tunnel, that’s now £100,000 raised for the non-profit – a total figure which could prove to be life-saving for many across the 10 boroughs.
Centrepoint also shared real-life experiences of hardship faced by some young people with the group huddled up inside Man United‘s home ground, as well as inviting those taking part to offer their own messages of support to those struggling, especially during the colder months.
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The Manchester United Foundation’s CEO, John Shiels, also gave a reading of a poem about the fabled Busby Babes (in whose honour the organisation was created in 2007) as a commitment to the young people across Greater Manchester.
“Once again, I am humbled by the amount of support the Sleep Out has received. It’s been great to see faces old and new supporting our work, and the work of Centrepoint, as we head into the harsh winter months”, said Shiels.
“There are many young people out there currently living in dire conditions and it is our duty as a community to come together and help them. I’m delighted to see that so many people feel the same and have collectively raised a fantastic amount of money that will make a huge difference to the lives of vulnerable young people in our area.”
As you can see, former players turned club ambassadors, David May and Danny Simpson, were both in attendance to sleep over during the night and chat with fans.
Simpson, an ex-United academy graduate who retired earlier this year, said of the evening: “It’s been a pleasure to be here this evening. I feel like homelessness is a problem that is getting worse, and you see it all over the city.
“I’m a local boy, so it means something to me to try and help my community in any way I can. I’ve seen first-hand the positive impact the Foundation has and it’s been great to hear about the work Centrepoint is doing – it’s been a really positive night.”
Other club partners and sponsors such as DXC Technology, DHL, WOW HYDRATE, Cadbury also helped out on the night, either by sending members in sleeping bags to represent their companies or by gifting snacks and supplies for the long night in the cold.
It goes without saying that it warms our hearts to see Mancs pulling together for such an important issue. Better yet, the fundraising page is still open so if you want to help, you can donate HERE. Here’s hoping United smash their previous fundraising feats at the next Stadium Sleepout in 2025.
You can win two VIP tickets to a Co-op Live show as part of a heartwarming Manc charity raffle
Danny Jones
Fancy bagging yourself the posh treatment at the biggest indoor gig and live entertainment venue in the city? Well, you can do just that by entering the latest Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity raffle, which is offering a pair of VIP tickets to a Co-op Live show.
All you have to do is simply do your bit for a crucial local cause.
It’s one that we’ve worked closely with in the past on many occasions: the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, which helps house rough sleepers across the region.
Teaming up with The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness – which was created specifically to generate funds for this ongoing crisis – as well as an upcoming community social, all you have to do to be in with a chance is put your name down for a cheap raffle ticket.
Writing in the caption of the post, the Mayor’s Charity has revealed that “Cross Club Social and The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness are teaming up to raffle off 2x VIP Co-op Live tickets to a show of your choosing.”
That’s right, not just any random show – you get to pick which one you fancy going along to in style.
With the 2026 edition of the annual fundraising relay event, on behalf of Greater Manchester’s homeless community, taking place this November (find out more on the GMMC website and keep up to date with us here at The Manc for the latest) they’re hoping to get the donations going nice and early.
For anyone unaware, the Cross Club Social, or ‘XCS’, has been going for a few years now; it brings together runners from all over the 10 boroughs for a big post-race party, all whilst raising money for charitable organisations.
DJs, karaoke, quizzing, three full rooms, an entire beer garden to themselves, and MUCH more. 👀
The next edition will be taking place this Friday, 19 June, over at the award-winning Fairfield Social Club, where an all-day party will run, pardon the pun, well into the night.
Better still, entrants into the raffle don’t have to wait long to find out if they’re a winner, as the lucky recipient is set to be announced the following Saturday (20 Jun) after the big shindig over on the XCS Instagram page.
The Mayor’s Charity team signed off by adding, “Good luck and together, we will end homelessness” – a mission that many Manc groups, especially, have been working so hard to make possible in recent times.
For instance, last year alone, the aforementioned 24 Hour Run, whose team will be in attendance and taking donations for at XCS 2026, generated a whopping £70k, and the total tally has now reached truly life-changing sums.
As for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity raffle, you can grab a ticket HERE for just a fiver to secure your chance to go along to a VIP night at Co-op Live. Fingers crossed!
Manchester United agree record streaming deal for new Amazon documentary TV series
Danny Jones
Manchester United have officially agreed a record sporting TV deal for a brand-new documentary TV series on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service.
That’s right, Man United are getting the All Or Nothing treatment.
With the Red Devils finishing the 2025/26 season much stronger than they started it, they’re now set to invite a film crew into the dressing room and the newly refurbished Carrington training complex for the upcoming campaign.
Although there have been many United documentaries over the years, everything from big budget and smaller indie projects to fan-made, this new show looks set to give a more exclusive present day peak behind the curtain of the club’s modern-day set-up than ever before.
While it remains unclear whether or not this past term’s exploits – be it the drama of the Ruben Amorim era, or the upturn under Michael Carrick – are set to be included, as the official announcement teases, the Amazon series will provide behind-the-scenes MUFC throughout the 26/27 term.
There was an opportunity to accept this kind of coverage shortly after INEOS invested in the business, but Amorim put a rather public kibosh on the offer to preserve the backroom’s privacy and prevent any unnecessary intrusion.
Understandably, a lot of people agree with the decision, especially given the team was not just in another state of flux but at a crucial turning point under their then-new boss.
Taking a more old-school manager approach, it may have been seen as a sensible step, but it wouldn’t have mattered either way, as the Portuguese head coach (who now looks set to join AC Milan) was eventually sacked after just over a year in charge.
Nevertheless, many supporters are still reticent about the prospect of lifting the lid on an organisation that has famously seen plenty of turbulence. The fan base will just be hoping for a season to remember for the right reasons while the cameras are running for a reportedly record
Really not a fan of this – I wonder what someone like Carrick thinks of this? Additional scrutiny and pressure in his first full season as Head Coach.
The two most recent Premier League champions, Arsenal and Man City, have both seen seasons of Amazon’s now well-known docuseries before going on to win landmark titles, so perhaps it could be a good omen; who knows?
Conversely, Sunderland – who were infamously selected as one of the first subjects of this all-access kind of series – arguably ended up putting more unnecessary spotlight on their struggles.
As for those under the All Or Nothing umbrella, Spurs, Juventus and even the German international have also served as examples of how the big payout may not always be worth the bad press, with all three having gone through plenty of trials and tribulations in and around the respective versions airing.
Let’s just say that, reportedly ‘record’ sums or not, this could still go one way or the other…
While it’s still unclear as to the actual figure Manchester United will be taking home as part of the package with Amazon, this is yet another example of the steady Americanisation of association football, starting with the NFL and ice hockey before now drawing even wider audiences to the beautiful game.
Danny Jones -
19th November 2024 
