Altrincham FC are holding a charity football match at their J Davidson Stadium to help raise funds for ayoung boy’scancer treatment and some famous faces are set toplay their partthis February.
Parents Chloe and Thomas Spurr learned of their four-year-old son Rio’s cancer diagnosis earlier this year after a stomach ache that they thought was nothing more than constipation saw the poor little lad become violently ill just days later.
Following a visit to A&E, Rio’s mum and dad were left heartbroken as doctors found a “nasty lump” on his right kidney which turned out to be a Wilms tumour, a very rare type of kidney cancer that only affects around 80 children in the UK every year.
With the help of Altrincham and charity football match organisers Sellebrity Soccer, along with their main sponsor Chris Hamlett, Managing Director of Armstrong Projects Limited, Chloe and Tom are doing their best to try and get him the help he needs.
Celebrities from the world of television and drama are heading to The J.Davidson Stadium early next month to take part in a fundraising game for four-year-old Rio Spurr.
Having been undergoing chemo and radiotherapy since April, as well as a four-hour surgery to remove the tumour, Chloe and Tom are now looking to try new treatments and clinical trials available overseas.
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That’s why this fundraiser is so vital in ensuring this ‘Wilms Warrior’ gets the care he needs. Writing in the description of his GoFundMe, ex-pro father Tom says: “Rio is the most beautiful, courageous and special little boy and he deserves every possible fighting chance of surviving this cruel disease.
“We are SO proud of Rio! Beyond proud of both him and his little brother… They are both remarkable little boys! Rio has been through far too much already and a lot more to come but still, he continues to smile and sing his way through this hideous disease.”
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Having heard about this little man’s inspiring battle, dozens of celebrities and notable names including Josh Ritchie, Dean Gaffney and James Arthur, as well as both current and former Alty players, are lacing up their boots to help raise money.
Thanks to the generosity of more than 1,700 incredible donors, the Spurr family have already raised over £78,000 of their £250,000 target and that’s the only goal we care about.
Better still, with ticket sales and concessions on the day, not to mention the chance to meet and greet the players in the VIP lounge before and after the game, the total fundraising amount is only going to get bigger.
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These lot are doing Rio Spurr and his family proud and so can you.
For those of you who fancy coming to cheer on the celebs and show your support for little Rio on Sunday 12 February, adult tickets are £12, under 18’s just £7 and a VIP spot will cost you just £30.
You can buy tickets HERE and those remaining will also be made available for purchase on the day. Most importantly, all the proceeds will be going towards helping Rio and his family fight this. Entry to the historic Moss Lane ground starts from 3:30pm and kick-off is at 5pm.
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)
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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 November 2022 
