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.
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.
Manchester City sign Beth Mead as European champion Lioness completes major transfer move to WSL title rivals
Danny Jones
In a major move for recently crowned champions Manchester City, two-time Euros winner Beth Mead has completed a switch from title Women’s Super League (WSL) rivals Arsenal.
This one is sure to cause quite the stir, especially given the players that have been transferred between them in the past.
Announcing the signing on Friday, 12 June, Man City Women confirmed the done deal in a social media post that also revealed she will don the number seven shirt.
With City having finally won the first title in over a decade earlier this year – only their second in the modern era – the England Women’s star and WSL heavyweight didn’t mince her words on arrival, telling the club and its fans: “I’m here to win.”
The 31-year-old from Whitby spent the best part of nine years at Arsenal, during which time she has also gone on to become one of the most prolific Lionesses under Sarina Wiegman.
Boasting not only 81 national team caps to her name, but also having scored 40 times in his career thus far (her assists included, guaranteeing at least a goal contribution every other game, on average), she’s been one of the most dangerous female forwards in Europe for some time now.
Speaking in a club statement, she said: “City have always played beautiful football, but I think this season they’ve been very cutthroat in front of goal, [found] different ways of scoring, different ways of creating goalscoring opportunities.
“I think that’s been the difference: they’ve found ways to score and win games when it’s been cagey, or whether it’s felt easy and you become complacent. I think that’s been the difference this season for City winning.”
Having already linked up with fellow England star Alex Greenwood upon making her first appearance at Man City’s brand new women’s football facility, she went on to add: “I’ve played with a lot of the players in the team, I’ve watched a lot of players in the team over the years and in the season gone [by], and I think that’s what created a lot of excitement.
They’ve aimed to set a new industry standard for the women’s game.
Penning a first MCWFC contract this week, she has signed a deal until the summer of 2029; both she and City supporters will no doubt be hoping she can add at least one more piece of silverware by the end of the 2026/27 campaign.
With head coach Andrée Jeglertz now looking to mount a title defence over at the Etihad Campus, and the Women’s World Cup in Brazil getting underway this time next year, Mead will obviously be looking to hit the ground running ahead of her first season in sky blue.
There is undoubtedly an element of curiosity to see who will have the better overall performance this upcoming term between her and national teammate Chloe Kelly, with the latter ex-City player having left the club for the red side of north London instead.
Speaking of cities split into two halves, football-wise, elsewhere in transfer news, Manchester United have also been linked to a new attacker of their own – it remains to be seen how strong the interest is going both ways…
Danny Jones -
26th November 2022 
