Greater Manchester Football Club (GMFC) is a new club in the region who you might not have heard about yet. But they are hoping to become the third most-recognised club in Manchester – and the most inclusive in Britain.
The club’s goals are ambitious at first glance, but Mohammed Harron – CEO and founder of the club – is optimistic they can hit their targets.
Being inclusive, Mohammed says, “isn’t hard; it’s natural.”
“It takes much more effort to create divide and animosity than it does to be inclusive,” he tells us.
GMFC may have only launched in 2018, but the core message of inclusivity is already apparent across their men’s and women’s team – with over 50 players representing 30 different nationalities at the club.
The mission of the club is primarily built on making the game accessible for everyone who wants to play, regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation or economic circumstance.
Mohammed is particularly concerned with the way in which football has moved away from it’s working class roots.
“Its a game you first played on the street or in gardens and parks and that is where your love for the game started,” he explains.
“If you were good there were always clubs that would help and develop young talent and if you were better still you were picked up by bigger clubs.
“In more recent times though, football has become all about the business and the vast finances that go with it.”
Mohammed believes it’s much harder for children and teenagers to be accepted into special academies because some families may not have the money to afford the fees, travel and equipment that is needed.
Ultimately, he thinks the luck has become more important than ‘raw talent’.
The CEO hopes that by focusing on the ability of players during recruitment, GMFC can be competitive while also “fielding a naturally inclusive team.”
— Pitching In Northwest Football Awards (@NWFAwards) October 15, 2020
The club have recently been nominated for the ‘Kick It Out Promoting Inclusion Award’ at the Pitching In North West Football Awards, sitting alongside the likes of Manchester United and Everton on the shortlist.
While Mohammed is excited to be have been shortlisted, particularly as a Mancunian and a Manchester United fan, he knows that this nomination is only a “small step on a very long journey”.
On a weekly basis clubs across the world have been supporting the Black Lives Matter movement by taking the knee or displaying anti-racism messaging on their shirts, but Mohammed is concerned that “the initial will and determination to do something to fundamentally change the game is starting to fade” and there is little evidence that anything has really changed.
There might be something in that. A recent report released by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMS) in July 2020 pointed out that there was a continued lack of diversity in the boards and management structures of football clubs.
The report, ‘Impact of COVID-19 on DCMS sectors’, reads: “The fact that no Premier League club and virtually no English Football League club has a black owner, chair or chief executive, is a fundamental inequality at the heart of the game.”
The Premier League itself admitted, after initially refusing to release their diversity figures, that only 12% of their staff were from BAME backgrounds, which is much lower than the 30% proportion of players who make up the game from BAME backgrounds.
The report also emphasised that more still needs to be done to tackle homophobia in the game, to “understand what barriers stand in the way of gay footballers, and how much of the responsibility lies with clubs and how much with fans”.
Exactly 30 years ago, footballer Justin Fashanu hit the headlines as the first professional player to come out as gay. His story is a reminder of why inclusion in sport is so important & why we are committed to making sport everyone’s game. Rest in power. https://t.co/ieJWUNG86Hpic.twitter.com/n7CfcRuiNk
Further, the committee recommends the government that “men’s elite sports are not further prioritised at the expense of the women’s game”, in regards to the way in which women’s football was “disproportionately affected” in the initial months of the pandemic.
Despite widespread discrimination in the game and unequal representation, Mohammed believes that those who may feel maginalised in the sport must not “fall into the trap of being angry or resentful in return to those that marginalise you.”
“Beat hatred through love and overcome discrimination by being a living, breathing example of someone who treats everyone with love, honour and respect,” he says.
“Greater Manchester FC is a club for everyone and anyone.”
“Thats the way it should be. The way it needs to be.”
welcomes anyone who wants to play for the club or volunteer their time to get involved.
You can found out more about the club on their website and stay tuned for videos on their Youtube channel for match highlights and interviews from players and staff.
Bryan Mbuemo transfer saga looks to finally be over as Manchester United agree deal with Brentford
Danny Jones
In one of the biggest transfer sagas of the 2025 summer transfer window, it looks like Manchester United have got their man, as an agreement with Brentford FC is in place and a move for Bryan Mbuemo looks to be a done deal.
Following weeks and weeks of speculation, minor nudges back and forth in the market, it has now been reported that French-born Mbuemo is heading to Man United, having made it apparent that Old Trafford was his desired destination for some time.
Having initially entered a bid of around £45 million before bonuses last month, the west London club stuck to their guns and appear to have got their overall asking price for the player.
According to Ornstein, a trusted transfer source and ever-reliable journalist, United are expected to pay Brentford an estimated £65m for Mbeumo’s signature.
However, with add-ons of approximately £6m, the attacking midfielder’s total price comes out at more than £70m, making his a fee a sales record for a now established Premier League side who have become known as a ‘feeder/selling club’ with excellent recruitment.
It is also said that MUFC and INEOS have arranged for a payment structure that will see the transfer funded over the course of four-year instalments, with a contract valid until 2030 and the option to extend by a further 12 months.
Well-known for using the so-called ‘Moneyball‘ model to their success in recent years, Mbuemo was signed by the Bees back in 2019, when they were still in the Championship, and he cost just £5.8m from ES Troyes AC – also a club record signing at the time.
Fast forward just a few seasons, not to mention 121 goal contributions in all competitions (28 of those coming last season alone), and he’s been deemed worth about 12 times that amount.
Here are just a few reasons why they’ve been after him.
"He's a player who likes to attack space!" 🔥
With Bryan Mbuemo Manchester United-bound, what can we expect from the winger? 👀 pic.twitter.com/ebmG8scUBy
Still just 25 years old, it’s fair to say he fits the balance of age and experience that the club are looking to recruit, as well as boasting a profile that suits the system Ruben Amorim is looking to deploy with his ever-shifting squad.
At least on paper, anyway.
Meanwhile, outgoing deals are still expected to be completed before the end of the summer window, with key first-team players like homegrown Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, and loanee Antony all still expected to depart.
Stockport school sees under 15s girls football team crowned national champions
Danny Jones
A local Stockport secondary has welcomed home their under-15s girls’ football team as national champions after winning the English Schools’ FA Cup.
Marple Hall School (MHS), located in the south-east part of the old Cheshire borough, is a high-performing educational institution known for its strong investment in youth sport.
Boasting a large sports hall, dedicated 3G footy pitches, MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area), gymnasium, netball and tennis courts, as well as other grass surfaces, many of the town’s nearby clubs make use of the facilities throughout the year.
However, it’s their homegrown talent that is having the spotlight rightfully shone on them this week, as a side of junior female footballers won the prestigious FA tournament for sporting youngsters.
The squad of Year 10 girls – consisting of Marple Hall players aged 14-15 – faced off against Kings Langley last week in the decisive fixture away at Sixways Stadium, home of Worcester City FC and the Worcester Warriors rugby union side.
Following their landmark victory this month, this most recent title has seen them crowned Stockport, Manchester and now National champions, thanks to their 2-1 win in the Development Cup Finals.
Writing in a proud and lengthy post on the school’s website, headteacher Joe Barker described the campaign as “a remarkable run for a remarkable team” and a “thoroughly deserved” trophy, despite coming up against a “really strong team” travelling from the Hertfordshire village.
Barker went on to add: “Team MHS were supported so well by the travelling family and friends, and of course by the 44 students who made their presence known in the stands. Outnumbered but certainly not outvoiced, the chants from team MHS were non-stop and so supportive.
“Not only that, but the whole school got behind the team with the tie live-streamed into every classroom and our halls over lunch.
“My colleagues tell me that they have never felt an atmosphere like it at MHS, the whole school site reverberating to the cheers when the teams came out, when Penny scored her two amazing goals, and at the final whistle.”
He even cited an anecdote of one young pupil telling fellow teacher Miss Gregory: “This is a really mint day for our school, isn’t it, miss? I’m really glad I come here!” He was responding to the moment the aforementioned Stopfordian star, Penny Hallos, scored an audacious backheel to make it a brace.
Unsurprisingly, she earned the player of the match award for her game-winning efforts.
To make things even sweeter, the incredible achievement was also recognised in the House of Commons, with Hazel Grove MP Lisa Smart motioning to toast their success among her fellow peers.
Celebrating not just the English championship but their Treble-winning year, Smart declared: “The whole of the town is incredibly proud of these girls for their achievements.
“My recent hundredth speech in Parliament was on ensuring that girls and young women were given the opportunities to participate in sport, and it is fantastic to be able to celebrate these young women who are doing just that.
“It’s great to be able to help celebrate their national success at Parliament, and I look forward to them achieving wonderful things going forward.”
Better still, nearly £1,500 was raised on top of the fund collected in order to help get the girls to the ground on matchday, and all that money is going directly towards further sports provision for the girls and young women’s sport, specifically.
You can watch the game in full down below, but we’ve highlighted that ingenious second strike from Hallos for you (rewind to around 41:45 to see her equaliser).
Congrats again to the SK, Greater Mancunian and now National champions – we hope we go on to see plenty of your names up in lights soon enough.