News

Premier League agrees to ban gambling sponsors on the front of matchday shirts

A positive step for the league and English football as a whole.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 13th April 2023

Premier League clubs have this week collectively agreed to remove gambling sponsors from the front of matchday shirts by the end of the 2025/26 season.

The decision to reduce the prominence and overexposure of gambling companies from football is said to have been voluntary, with clubs still able to advertise betting brands on shirt sleeves, around stadiums and on advertising hoardings around the pitch.

There are currently eight English top-flight teams that still have betting brands as the primary sponsor on the front of their kits, but they will be allowed to secure shirt-front deals before the deadline.

Among those eight shirt sponsors alone, the clubs in question are said to earn around £60 million in revenue per year, but the impact it has on fans and young people, in particular, is an issue that has been continuously raised for some time now.

The announcement comes after a consultation between the division, its 20 clubs and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as part of the government’s ongoing review of current gambling legislation.

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Following the decision being confirmed on Thursday, 13 April, the Premier League is now set to become the first sports league in the UK to take such measures voluntarily and there has been a push to reduce gambling advertising throughout the footballing pyramid for some time now.

It was only in October this past year that Bolton Wanderers led the charge to phase gambling out of football and sport in general by severing all ties with any betting-related organisations.

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The league is now also working with other disciplines on the development of a new code for ‘responsible gambling sponsorship’ throughout British sport, with a full gambling white paper expected to be published by the government in the near future.

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The decision looks to be a positive step for English football and one which could, in time, see a great impact around Europe and further afield.

Britain’s Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer welcomed the news, stating: “The vast majority of adults gamble safely, but we have to recognise that footballers are role models who have enormous influence on young people.

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“We want to work with institutions like the Premier League to do the right thing for young fans.”

Moreover, the push to reduce the reach that betting companies isn’t just happening in football but even in the virtual space, with a European court recently ruling FIFA packs to be a form of gambling too.

Austrian court rules FIFA packs count as ‘illegal’ gambling

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Featured Image — West Ham United/Brentford FC

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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group

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
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.”

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Featured image: The Manc Group

News

‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data

Danny Jones Danny Jones the average price of a pint in the UK by region

Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.

Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.

The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.

While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.

@the.manc Just trying to walk home and the Northern Quarter keeps tempting me in for a pint. 🙈 #themanc #manchester #mcr #northernquarter #spring ♬ original sound – The Manc

The average price of a pint per region in the UK

  1. Wales – £4.21
  2. North East – £4.28
  3. Northern Ireland – £4.42
  4. Scotland – £4.42
  5. Yorkshire and the Humber – £4.42
  6. North West – £4.42
  7. West Midlands – £4.42
  8. East Midlands – £4.42
  9. East England – £4.56
  10. South West – £4.93
  11. South East – £4.94
  12. London – £5.44

That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.

Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.

Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.

Happy hour Manchester – The best drinks deals in the city centre
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.

London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)

While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.

To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.

CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.

Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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