With less than a fortnight until the first game, the folks at Printworks are ready and raring to go for Euro 2024 – so much so that they’ve decided to kick things off themselves with a free football tournament this weekend.
But it comes with a bit of a twist.
Ever heard of Panna football? Well, even if you haven’t, chances are you’ve seen it plenty of times before; think those noughties ‘joga bonito’ adverts, FIFA Street and playing on the cages in the park with your mates.
In short, Panna is street football at its finest and most skilful, prioritising trickery, tekkers and lightning-fast footwork above all else, and now Printworks is hosting a free tournament where you can watch, learn and take part.
Most Panna arena are usually circular or octagonal (Credit: Supplied)
Being set up in the Pumpyard area of the recently renovated entertainment and leisure centre, the 6x6m Panna pitch will see competitors aim to beat each other by scoring more goals than their opponent or by playing the ball through the other player’s legs, i.e. ‘Panna’.
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We usually just call it a nutmeg here in the UK but, you know, each to their own.
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as skinning another player up, especially in front of a crowd, but Printworks is making things even more interesting by giving away prizes to those who show the most skills over the weekend.
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What’s more is you’ll have plenty of tunes to keep your rhythm on the ball flowing and a pretty much constant light show going on above you thanks to their state-of-the-art digital ceiling, which just so happens to be the biggest in Europe.
The already eye-catching display will show bespoke football-themed content but we’re hoping it’ll be the talent on the day that leaves people most mesmerised. Expert freestyler, Roman Brezovsky, will also be joining in with the fun on Saturday, entertaining the crowds with his quick footwork and hat full of tricks.
Children of all ages and adults alike can join in on the fun completely free, pick up tips for the football tournament as well as capture all the best content from Printworks’ massive new digital screen.
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Once again, the event is only on this weekend (8-9 June from 11am to 4pm) but there’s also going to be a shed load of discounts at various in-house bars and restaurants throughout the Euros, including free pints and a whopping 25% off drinks packages throughout the tournaments at Walkabout.
We can only do about three consecutive kick-ups, so we might sit this one out but we hope to see lots of you there showcasing your skills and getting in the mood for football coming home.
Featured Images — Prime Video (supplied via Printworks)/The Manc Group
Sport
FA confirm date and kick-off time for 2024 Manchester derby Community Shield
Danny Jones
The FA has finally confirmed the date and scheduled kick-off time for the 2024 Community Shield between Manchester United and Manchester City.
It was only last month that we saw the second-ever Manchester derby FA Cup final in history play out and now we’ll see the two teams return to the capital in just over a month and a half for another clash.
Revealing the Community Shield details on Wednesday, this year’s game will take place at 3pm on Saturday, 10 August.
Best getting booking them train tickets, Manc.
This year’s Community Shield kick-off time will be identical to the last two FA Cups. (Credit: Ratchet8865 via Wikimedia Commons)
With Man City having won a record fourth Premier League in a row and Man United getting one over on the Blues against the odds in last season’s FA Cup final, the neighbours will take each other on for just the third time in the history of the Community Shield – United having prevailed in both of the previous.
The Red Devils have won the title a total of 17 times, while the Cityzens have lifted the pre-season trophy just six times.
Given the nature of the rivalry, the kick-off time comes as little surprise, with 3pm having been chosen for the start of the last two Manchester derbies at Wembley to aid with travel and crowd control.
Nevertheless, an increased police presence will once again be expected in London.
While featuring in the Community Shield has been a regular occurrence for City over the past few years, they have only won two under Pep Guardiola. Meanwhile, this will be Erik ten Hag’s first experience of the fixture and United haven’t taken part in it since they last won the FA Cup in the 2016/17 season.
The match will be televised live on ITV 1, ITVX, STV and STV Player, with comprehensive radio coverage from BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Manchester, BBC World Service, TalkSPORT and TalkSPORT International.
Although the allocations and further ticket information remain unclear, the FA said they will announce all of the important details “at the earliest opportunity”.
Mary Earps is set to leave Manchester United and join PSG on a free transfer this summer
Danny Jones
After much speculation over her future, Lionesses keeper Mary Earps is reportedly set to leave Manchester United and join French giants PSG on a free transfer this summer.
The 31-year-old has been at Man United for nearly five years after joining from German side VfL Wolfsburg back in 2019 and has gone on to become not only the Red Devils’ number one but England’s too, emerging as one of the national team’s biggest leaders over the past few years.
Having picked up the 2023 Sports Personality of the Year among multiple other awards following her heroics at the Euros and World Cup, along with her campaigning on behalf of women’s sport, her stock has never been higher, but deliberations surrounding a new contract have dragged on for months.
Unfortunately for Man United Women fans, it looks as though the two parties have in the end failed to reach an agreement and they’ll have to big goodbye to Mary ‘Queen of Stops’.
Mary Earps will leave Manchester United at the end of her contract to join Paris Saint-Germain 📝 pic.twitter.com/82k5qAAwbq
As per multiple outlets, there has been no resolution between Earps and the WSL club despite lengthy negotiations and the fan-favourite player is now expected to leave Manchester when her contract expires at the end of the month.
According to the Evening Standard‘s Simon Collings, United are “understood to have made the goalkeeper a strong offer to stay, but she is keen for a new challenge elsewhere”, though Earps herself said the decision would ultimately be “up to the club” – the suggestion being it wasn’t a big enough deal.
It’s fair to say this will be a big loss for the club and not the only instance in which they won’t receive any kickback from the move, having similarly let a first-team star and fellow Lioness Alessia Russo go for free and join title rivals Arsenal at the end of her contract last summer.
But it isn’t just money the supporters fear has influenced the decision.
Not forgetting the top scorer Parris, & FA Cup final goalscorers Williams and Garcia. It is just a HUGE mess.
As you can see, there is now fear that other members of Marc Skinner’s squad could also be on their way out because of the other decisions made by higher-ups, with Spaniard Lucía García having also confirmed her exit on Wednesday, 26 June.
The club has faced huge backlash following their decision to move the female players into portable facilities for the benefit of the men’s team whilst the Carrington Training Complex undergoes a reported £50 million revamp. Admittedly not a great look for parity throughout the club.
Kick Off podcast host and producer, Bruno Quinney, reacted to the news by calling it “unbelievable” and claiming that the women’s team “is going backwards” since Sir Jim Ratcliffe came in as co-owner.
“So much for a world-class sporting operation”, he added, posing the valid question: “Why can’t the serially underperforming men’s team move into portable buildings?
Earps is yet to issue a statement on her imminent departure but she’ll certainly be sorely missed by the United faithful.
Danny Jones -
5th June 2024 
