One of the hardest parts about getting organised for a major tournament is finding the right place to watch all the games. Planning is one thing but actually getting in somewhere is a battle in of itself.
We’ve been racking our brains over the best places in town to watch England at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and after being invited along to ‘Road to Victory’ on Tuesday, we might just have a winning candidate for you.
Road to Victory is the flagship event from fledgling entertainment company AIX Live (Amplified Immersive eXperience), who will be bringing the biggest fan zone anywhere in Europe to Depot Mayfield.
And when we say biggest, it really is massive. Try over 100,000 square feet.
It really is the biggest fan zone in Europe
With a capacity of over 6,000, Road to Victory (RtV) is set to bring the most immersive, multi-sensory football experience we have ever come across besides being in the stadium itself to hordes of England fans living in Manchester.
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Playing England games only (because it’s win or bust as far as they’re concerned), the immense space being used for the fan park will be familiar to those who have been to Warehouse Project before, though it’s never been quite like this.
Even walking in was quite the experience.
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Credit: The Manc
Stretching across three rooms promising crowds of between 1,500 and 2,500 each, the transformed venue promises music, light shows and, most importantly, giant screens on almost every wall to watch the games. You literally can’t miss it.
With everything from burgers and dirty fries to nachos, wings and more – catered by Manchester food brand Oh My Glaze – not to mention all the booze you’ll need to launch into the air when we score, you’ll have everything you could ask for in this unprecedented supporter space.
Credit: The Manc/Supplied
Those paying for seated tickets in the main room or purchasing one of 200 VIP tickets each game via donation can even pre-order food and drink more than an hour and a half before kick-off.
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An interactive audio-visual experience
But it’s just more than tables, chairs and a big telly – you can get that at pretty much any pub. What we were most blown away by were the production levels AIX have delivered for this event.
In addition to the sea of neon lights and huge speakers echoing around the room, our sneak preview included a glimpse at the stunning AV packages promised both before, during and after the game.
As well as visual team sheet presentations which will see the starting 11 read out by an announcer, there will be live match stats throughout the game, running ticker tape around the room and dynamic moments such as a 4D virtual heartbeat should Southgate‘s side win a penalty. Very, very cool.
Credit: The Manc
There’s also plenty of audience participation, not just in terms of cheering on the Three Lions but with quizzes, prize competitions, special guests, DJs and more.
There are even digital activities accessible via a simple QR code such as a virtual game of Pong, where thousands of audience members can play a giant multiplayer game against whoever England’s opponents are that day. They’re really trying to deliver an all-around fan experience.
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It goes beyond just a game
Perhaps the thing we were most impressed with was AIX’s collaboration with the sporting charity Football Beyond Borders (FBB), an organisation dedicated to improving the young people and local communities through the beautiful game.
Credit: The Manc/Football Beyond Borders
But this isn’t just a publicity partnership, RtV and AIX will be donating £500 for every goal England scores in the group games directly to FBB and, better still, a whopping £1,000 for every goal scored in the knockout stages — which will be getting to, thank you very much.
It’s this kind of dedication and confidence in the project and its sheer scale that we admire, as they’re just as convinced it’s coming home as we are. Moreover, they’re making sure that fans and football lovers across the country will benefit regardless of the end result come the final on 18 December.
Tickets for Road to Victory are going to fly
England’s first game against Iran kicks off at 1pm on 21 November but Road to Victory at Depot Mayfield will be open from 10:30am and won’t be kicking people out until the last drink is sunk, “or the license kicks in” — their words, not ours.
Credit: Supplied
In short, the Depot and AIX plan to put on after-parties when England wins each game, not if. This is strictly an over-18s fan zone designed for limbs, limbs and more limbs.
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Standing tickets for Road to Victory start at just £9.50 and seated packages from £15 (plus booking fees), with more information on drink and food pre-order packages set to be released soon.
You’ll be able to buy passes from the likes of Kaboodle, Ticketmaster and See Tickets, so make sure to keep an eye out on their socials for updates and you can find out more info at roadtovictory.co.uk.
But don’t lose all hope if you miss out, there is also Escape to Freight Island’s ‘Festival of Football’ just next door should tickets go wanting and you’re still in search of those fan park vibes.
Tickets go on sale at 10am this Friday, 14 October 14, 2022, so you best be quick if you wanna be there to watch the boys bring it home.
Featured Image — The Manc
Sport
A local Manchester run club is holding two special running routes to see the total eclipse
Danny Jones
With the highly anticipated total eclipse fast approaching, people not just here in Greater Manchester but all over the UK, Europe and the rest of the world are gearing up to try and watch it – but this native running club are doing it a bit differently.
Eclipses occur once every 12-18 months, but this is set to be the biggest since 1999.
The moon is set to cover approximately 96-98% of the sun this coming Wednesday, 12 August, 2026, and rather than try to watch it from a window at home or drive to somewhere with supposedly ‘the best view’, local sports club Manchester Road Runners are turning it into their latest one-off event.
Sharing details online, the free-to-join local organisation, which boasts thousands of members on Facebook and various other platforms, will be timing things to make sure they catch the phenomenon.
Writing in the accompanying caption, the Road Runners say: “We’ve pulled some strings and have a very special event taking place on August 12th, a solar eclipse! Come run with us under a darkened sun next Wednesday from The Wharf at 18:30, with peak moon coverage expected at around 19:10.”
Better still, they’re also teaming up with their trail running spin-off club for an even more scenic twist on the evening excursion.
“If you prefer to experience your solar phenomena under the wide open skies”, they go on to write, “our friends over at Trail Division will be holding a hike/run off road, meet at Piccadilly Station at 18:00 to get shady in the great outdoors.”
Fortunately, they have issued an important disclaimer, going on to remind runners that “while beautiful and majestic, the sun should NEVER be directly looked at in the face unprotected”, signing off by adding, “Respect the sun, respect your peepers, stay ocularly safe out there.”
If you’ve never come across MRR before, they’re probably the biggest run club in the entire Greater Manchester region and their social-first jogs, intervals, track sessions and more revolve around meeting back up with your mates for a wholesome pint and a chat.
For many, it’s the biggest and the best in the city.
As for the eclipse run, it’s set to be a very magical variation on their usual Wednesday evening meets.
Quite rightly, they also point out in the post that you can actually buy certain glasses to view eclipses on these rare occasions, with search traffic often ramping up in and around these events.
Meanwhile, the Trail Division branch is yet to confirm the route for their run/hike, but it will most likely remain in the nearby North West vicinity; keep your eyes peeled on their social media pages (linked above) for more information and other upcoming trail events.
Speaking of trail runs, there’s a pretty beautiful albeit challenging one coming up next month…
Stunning vistas, walkers welcome, and multiple distances available.🏃♂️🥾
And the best part? It's less than 90 minutes away from Manchester. 🏞️
Rodri makes ‘preference’ clear as Barcelona and Real Madrid push to sign Man City star
Danny Jones
Ballon d’Or winner and Manchester City star Rodri has reportedly made his ‘preference’ clear as both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have ramped up efforts to sign him this summer.
The European and now World Champion is well and truly within ‘completing football’ territory at this point, but now looks set for a return to his home country to conquer La Liga.
Well, sort of, as according to Forbes and other outlets, the world-class central defensive midfielder looks to have ‘chosen’ Barcelona over Madrid, with the deal now progressing beyond just player talks.
However, as the BBC and various other sources have now reported, City have already rejected an initial bid of approximately £38.5 million and will keep holding out for a larger fee for one of, if not their most important player.
Sharing an even more recent update, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has stated that, as well as the decision having now been made over the Spanish giants and “personal terms agreed”, the Rodri move has now entered the “key stages” with direct negotiations between the two clubs.
Initial contract talks are said to have already taken place, and with the Spaniard having come through the Atlético Madrid youth ranks before returning there as a senior player prior to his big-money move to Manchester, a switch to the other side of the city and ‘Los Blancos’ was always going to be a tall task.
As per Romano, Barca are extremely keen on securing Rodri, but as always, price will be the sticking point. Although the Blues have made it very clear that they want more if he is to leave, the Catalan club are confident they’ll be able to close the deal before the end of the transfer window.
It’s rumoured that the asking price is somewhere closer to £60m, although who knows what the final number would be when factoring in add-ons and other bonuses, etc.
Meanwhile, City are obviously hoping to keep hold of their Euro 2024 and 2026 World Cup winner if they can; they’re said to be trying their best to keep him at the table and tie him down to a new and even more lucrative contract.
On the other hand, they have brought in an already extremely highly rated player in Elliot Anderson, who looks set to be their crucial cog in the middle of the park for a long time to come at just 23 years old.
Do you think it’s the right fit, if he has indeed ‘picked’ the Blaugrana?
All that being said, it’s hard for any player to look the other way when an offer comes in from two of the biggest clubs in the world, let alone Spain – especially when the player is from there and has won everything there is to win in their current league.
Rodri only turned 30 back in June, and despite having numerous injury problems over the past couple of seasons, there is still an evident faith that new MCFC boss Enzo Maresca can build a fresh squad around him in the pivot.
What do you think, Cityzens: is now the right time to try and get a good price for him, or should he stick around at the Etihad for the remainder of his already glittering career?
Elsewhere in transfer news, both big Manc clubs and a number of other suitors across Europe are supposedly interested in signing a young striker currently playing in Ireland…
Danny Jones -
12th October 2022 
