England international and former Manchester City star Raheem Sterling‘s charity has recently become a Patrons and donor of the HideOut Youth Zone in Gorton.
Yet another reminder that Raz is an absolutely top lad.
The Raheem Sterling Foundation was officially announced as a partner of HideOUT YZ in the East Manchester district on Monday, 24 October, with the footballer’s organisation echoing the vital Gorton‘s site values: “working diligently to bring inspiring changes to young people who need it most.”
We are committed with @HideOut_YZ to improve social mobility for young people and provide guidance to break down barriers, secure opportunities and access better education.
In the current times of need, organisations like HideOut are more valuable than ever before.
— The Raheem Sterling Foundation (@RSfoundation) October 24, 2022
The youth charity and community centre’s aim is to provide young people with a safe space to participate in sports and other activities; make new friends, get inspired or simply relax.
While sport plays a big role in HideOut YZ’s youth community – hence Sterling‘s connection to the initiative – its central purpose revolves around “keeping children and young adults off the street” and reminding them of the importance of learning a skill.
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HideOut caters to people aged 8-19 and up to 25 for those with additional needs, introducing individuals to over 20 different creative and sporting activities every night for just 50p — a vital local resource, especially when schools are closed.
Beyond just keeping young people busy and entertained, the centre also offers employability and enterprise support, helping Manchester‘s youth develop their entrepreneurial skills, find apprenticeships and pursue valuable qualifications, both academic and professional.
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For instance, to celebrate the partnership, Sterling’s foundation teamed up with talkSPORT to launch a ‘Broadcast Academy’, which will help deliver skills and knowledge to those looking to go into broadcast media after they leave education.
You love to see it.
🔍We're looking for 6 young people to take part in the year-long project!
⚽ age 14-19 ⚽ interest in football ⚽ interest in a career in media ⚽ be a #HideOutYZ member
The foundation’s Chair of Trustees Clive Ellington said in a statement: “We are proud to be announced as Patron of HideOut youth zone.
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“Its vision and values supporting young people match that of the Foundation, and we look forward to working closely with them helping to educate, inspire and empower the young people of Manchester.”
Located next to Gorton Park, the facility opened in 2020 and is part of the national OnSide Network charity, originally founded back in 2008. Since then, 14 youth zones have been set up across the UK.
Gorton’s state-of-the-art HideOUT YZ is the most recent to have been opened and cost £6.6 million to build, signifying a massive investment in the Greater Manchester area.
Despite leaving 0161 for a return to London life, it’s clear that Sterling still has a deep affection for Manchester and having put down roots here for seven years – not to mention understanding the importance of having outlets like these at a young age – he’ll always be an honorary Manc in our eyes.
If you or a young person in your family is looking for somewhere to keep busy, stay active, learn or simply keep out of trouble, the HideOut Youth Zone in Gorton is a safe haven full ran by wonderful people.
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The youth centre is open for seniors (13-19) on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, while the junior club (8-12) runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There is also the Sunday Club for both age groups.
You can find the full list of opening times and information for those with additional needs HERE.
Featured Image — HideOut Youth Zone/Raheem Sterling Foundation (via Twitter)
Sport
Bernardo Silva shares hilarious X-rated clash with John Stones before they were teammates
Danny Jones
This long weekend not only saw Man City manager and sporting legend Pep Guardiola bid goodbye to the club after a decade, but so did John Stones and Bernardo Silva, and the latter shared a hilarious story about an encounter before their bromance in blue.
Can’t lie, this one nearly made us spit out our tea when we first watched it…
Following the trio’s respective final games, this late May bank holiday Monday saw yet another City parade pass through Manchester, and as the party continued over at the Etihad Campus and Co-op Live for the afterparty, the boys got up on stage to say some parting words.
In Silva’s case, he chose to share, rather fittingly, some very choice words indeed, as he talked about his time playing against Stones when he was still in France.
From ‘little soft c**t’ to brothers lifting trebles together… football heritage.
Safe to say no one was expecting that particular expletive to come out of his mouth – we reckon not even most of the squad themselves.
During the Yorkshireman‘s first season at Manchester City, he came up against the creative midfielder in the Champions League when he was still playing at Ligue 1 side AS Monaco.
As you can see in the clip above, while it wasn’t the friendliest of exchanges back then, they soon buried the hatchet and chalked it off as nothing more than football.
Both fierce competitors in their own right, they look to be plenty soft with each other off the pitch ever since they became teammates.
So much so, in fact, that the duo ended up being the face of a pop-up Man City pub earlier this month, recreating the famous photo of the Gallagher brothers wearing the 1993/94 kits.
Credit: Manchester City FC (publicity pictures)
It’s plain to see in the clip how much love there is between the two, all these years later, and the story itself got a rapturous reaction from their peers and the crowd alike.
Silva has plenty of fans across Europe, both as a player and purely as a character; you only have to look at how Jack Grealish often reiterates his love for the Portuguese playmaker as a person and Premier League character, or even how pundits aligned with rival clubs like Gary Neville waxes lyrical about him.
And then we come to Pep himself.
Guardiola was rightfully given a fantastic guard of honour at the stadium itself on Sunday, with his speech making for an emotional moment for all those in the stands and watching at home, and City supporters at the parade made sure to give him a proper send-off.
Featured Images — Manchester City FC/CITY+ (screenshot via YouTube)
Sport
Manchester’s The Grosvenor pub set to host huge England fan zone with Fireball for 2026 World Cup
Danny Jones
With the 2026 World Cup fast approaching, there’ll obviously be tonnes of places showing the game, but there’s only one place that’s promising big screens, ball pits, pool tables, ping pong, a ‘peep show’ and plenty more right from the off: The Grosvenor.
It doesn’t hurt that they’re teaming up with beloved booze brand Fireball to spice things up.
We hope the goals come easily for England this tournament, but we can assure the drinks will be free-flowing regardless, over at The Grosvenor on Oxford Road Corridor here in Manchester city centre.
Located just on the corner of (you guessed it) Grosvenor St and the busy Oxford Rd stretch, they’re already getting geared up for tournament time…
Teaming up with the famous cinnamon whisky liqueur, the popular student and matchday spot is set to be busier than ever for this year’s World Cup.
As for what they have in store for the North American edition of FIFA’s biggest competition and the ultimate celebration of the beautiful game, besides numerous England flags hanging from the walls and that beautiful ceiling, there’ll be plenty of music, England anthems, giveaways and top-tier atmosphere.
In addition to lots of chanting from yourselves, no doubt, there’ll be DJ sets and merch up for grabs, as well as lots of big wigs, St George’s glasses and foam hands floating around the room.
Credit: The Grosvenor (supplied)
Of course, there will also be wall-to-wall coverage of the games across their many screens around the venue, not least of all the big box sitting pride of place above the bar itself.
With two large floors and more intimate seating options upstairs, there are plenty of ways to watch Thomas Tuchel’s team fly the flag.
Kicking off with the Three Lions’ opening clash against Croatia on Wednesday, 17 June, the venue will be transformed into a sea of red and white, and guests will also be treated to a completely FREE shot of Fireball every single time England score.
Don’t mind if we do.
Naturally, with stuff like this on offer, fans are encouraged to grab their tickets for the fixtures as early as possible so as not to miss out.
In their words AND ours, “From the first whistle to the final anthem, The Grosvenor is set to become one of Manchester’s home ends for the World Cup.”
You can reserve your tickets from just £3 for The Grosvenor Fireball Fanzone – along with plenty of cheap pints and affordable food and drink packages – right HERE.
(Don’t say, don’t say it, don’t say it) It’s coming home…
Danny Jones -
26th October 2022 
