Represent Manchester in a free cross-city FIFA battle launching this month
FIFA fans in Manchester have the opportunity to represent their city and win up to £500 and 6 months free Future Fibre from TalkTalk, by taking part in a free cross-city virtual tournament, The Future Fibre City Clash, against rival cities.
A new cross-city gaming battle is launching in Manchester later this month, giving FIFA fans the chance to play in a FIFA 22 tournament against fellow gamers in Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds.
The Future Fibre City Clash will see gamers across the four cities will go head-to-head from the comfort of their own homes for a chance to win a £500 cash prize and six months free Future Fibre broadband, plus an Amazon eero, all courtesy of TalkTalk.
The top two players from each city who make it through to the qualifying stages will each take home a £100 cash prize too.
Registrations for The Future Fibre City Clash are open until 28 January, with the free tournament set to kick off on 29 January.
After the qualifying stages, the championship will take place on 12 and 13 February.
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FIFA 22. Credit: EA Sports
The virtual tournament will be hosted on Battlefy, the leading online esports tournament platform.
Anyone can enter and players can take part in as many games as they like between 29 January and 6 February.
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Players will need to enter their Manchester postcode to register their details, and have access to a PlayStation 4 or Xbox.
The Future Fibre City Clash will find the top FIFA gaming city but will also discover if Manchester has the best gaming skills, showcasing which city has the most goals and the most wins throughout the competition.
A cross-city FIFA battle is heading to Manchester. Credit: Supplied
Ben Cooper, head of marketing – FTTP at TalkTalk, said: “We’re so excited to launch The Future Fibre City Clash as we make fast, affordable, full fibre broadband more widely available in Manchester.
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“Our Future Fibre packages use the UK’s latest full fibre technology and next generation home Wi-Fi from Amazon eero, meaning they can handle multiple devices at once with ease and without lag or buffering – making it the perfect broadband package for gamers.
“We look forward to seeing gamers represent their city throughout the virtual FIFA tournament and would encourage anyone to join in and have a go at winning some points for their city.”
The Future Fibre City Clash follows the launch of TalkTalk’s Future Fibre packages, with top average download speeds of 900Mb/s in Manchester.
The packages combine the benefits of Wi-Fi 6 technology and 100% full fibre connection, making them up to 24 times faster and up to five times more reliable than standard broadband.
Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
Manchester City plotting spending spree ‘before’ Club World Cup
Danny Jones
Manchester City are set to embark on somewhat of a spending spree this summer transfer window as the club’s higher-ups are looking to get business done before the 2025 Club World Cup.
With FIFA’s intercontinental club competition set to get underway in mid-June, the Blues don’t have too long to welcome in new players, but Man City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has reiterated their urgency regarding recruitment.
Despite having brought in four new acquisitions in a very short space of time last season, the 50-year-old argued that he wasn’t completely happy with the extent and speed of their business.
Giving a lengthy interview this week, CFG‘s founding chairman has imposed an internal deadline ahead of the lucrative knockout competition.
Speaking with club media, Khaldoon recognised that while there were incomings in January of this year, he believes they “should have been more aggressive in some of the changes we needed to do, adding that he believes it “cost [them].”
“I can tell you today, we have clearly identified who exactly [the targets are], in what positions, and we have our clear number one option, our clear number two option”, he continues.
More importantly, he goes on to add: “We’ll go about our business, and it will be very clear, very swift. Our objective is to try to be ready with the new squad for the Club World Cup.”
He also suggested the flurry of activity this past January was not just atypical of the administration, but felt the squad fell into a crisis state with the number of injuries, insisting they “had to act.”
City have already been linked with a hugely talented and highly-rated European target in the wake of Kevin De Bruyne‘s departure and a lack of strength in depth in midfield.
An initial bid is said to have been received already and will likely be the first of many City summer signings.
He also insisted that the players who joined last season weren’t scattershot, emergency transfers (perhaps barring the resigning of İlkay Gündoğan) but were the start of the rebuild and “gives [fans] an idea of what’s coming this summer.”
Another player linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium is Lyon star Rayan Cherki, who scored in big moments during their Europa League run this year, registering 32 goal contributions across all competitions throughout the 24/25 campaign.
Who would you like to see added to Pep Guardiola’s side this summer, then, Man City fans?
You can watch Khaldoon Al Mubarak’s interview in full down below:
Daisy Jackson -
24th January 2022 
