Sport

Why England are wearing a special commemorative shirt before their friendly against Scotland

Both teams played an important part in making international football what it is today.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 12th September 2023

England are set to round off the international break with a friendly against Scotland on Tuesday night, 12 September, but this isn’t just any throwaway match — it marks a significant moment in sporting history and, with that in mind, they will be wearing a very special shirt before the game.

As already sported by captain Harry Kane in promotional pictures, the Three Lions will be wearing a unique pre-match jersey ahead of what is the 150th Anniversary Heritage Match against Scotland at Hampden Park.

With Scotland already wearing a design that pays tribute to their 150-year history this season, a shirt that sold out within hours of its release, England will also be giving a nod to their own heritage by donning a jersey bearing the original crest from the first-ever Scotland vs England meeting in 1872.

However, it isn’t just 150 years since the first teams ever met, the all-British game also happens to be paying tribute to the first international football match that was ever played.

Being hosted at Scotland’s home ground at Hampden Park on the Scottish Football Association’s significant anniversary, there was no more fitting way to celebrate the occasion than by replaying the world’s oldest international fixture and what will be the 116th meeting between the two teams.

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The shirt was first worn during the nations’ recent visit to Hamilton Crescent in Glasgow — now home to the West of Scotland Cricket Club — i.e. the same place where that first international match was played out on 30 November 1872, which ended in a goalless draw.

But the best part of all is that limited edition versions of the shirt will also be auctioned to raise money for the FA’s official charity partner, the Alzheimer’s Society.

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The one-off auction in support of Alzheimer’s Society is live NOW and will run until 8pm on Saturday, 30 September and these shirts are already certain to be deeply meaningful collectors’ items.

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The partnership with the Society is helping raise vital funds towards research that will help transform the future of dementia treatment. Diagnosis rates hit a five-year low during the pandemic and have stagnated ever since, leaving tens of thousands of people living with undiagnosed dementia. One in three people born today will go on to develop it in their lifetime, so it’s crucial that we raise awareness.

With Gareth Southgate‘s side playing out a lacklustre 1-1 draw against Ukraine in their Euro 2024 qualifier on Saturday, the Scots will be hoping they can manage to get one over on ‘The Auld Enemy’.

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England has won 48 to Scotland’s 41 and while the visiting Lions have lost just one of their past dozen meetings with them (drawing just one of those), this match always promises a fierce rivalry and Steve Clarke’s team also boasts the current joint-top scorer in Manchester United’s Scott McTominay.

Here’s hoping this historic game will have more goals than it did 150 years ago. The game kicks off at 7:45pm on Channel 4 tonight.

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Featured Image — England/FA

Sport

2024 Manchester Marathon raises £29 million for local economy and over £3.7m for charity

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester Marathon raises millions for city economy and local charity

Just under a fortnight on from the 2024 Manchester Marathon and the numbers are finally, with the annual race generating nearly £30 million for the local economy and raising over £3.7m for charity.

This year’s Adidas Manchester Marathon saw record numbers of runners and spectators as over 30,000 took part in the popular race, up by roughly 6,000 from 2023, and more than 125k turned up to line the streets of Greater Manchester.

As a result, these huge crowds spent upwards of £29.2 million at business around the city centre and around the 10 boroughs last weekend, serving as one of the most significant contributions to the local economy on the annual calendar.

Not only was this an approximately £8m increase on last year’s tally but, most importantly, a sizeable chunk of that went straight into both regional and national charities.

The 2024 adidas Manchester Marathon was a spectacular day for the city and its economy.

Beyond the boost to local vendors, the hospitality sector and retail businesses, over £3.7 million were allocated to charities such as Alzheimer’s Charity, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation and The Christie. 

Over £32,000 was also raised for the Trafford Active Fund, with £1 from every paid entry to the Adidas Manchester Marathon and Manchester Half donated directly to the initiative that benefits local sports clubs and organisations through Trafford Council.

Better still, with City of Trees selected as the chosen ‘Green Runner’ charity, the eco-friendly drive saw roughly 7% of participants opt out of receiving either a finisher t-shirt, medal or both.

The money saved in production goes towards maintaining woodlands and wildlife across Greater Manchester.

Fundraising from the Manchester Marathon is one of it’s biggest upshots.

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This year’s Manchester Marathon also helped produce some of the highest number of passengers on public transport in the city’s history, with a over 175,000 journeys made on Metrolink alone – the highest number of journeys ever recorded on a single day.

This was a 20% increase on 2023’s race day (145k), spotlighting how the event continues to be more environmentally conscious as years go by.

With the 2025 adidas Manchester Marathon confirmed to be taking place on Sunday, 27 April next year – and over 12,000 places already sold – the city can already look forward to reaping the economic and social benefits of hosting one of Europe’s largest, flattest, friendliest and most-loved marathons. 

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Adidas Manchester Marathon/The Manc Group

Sport

‘Enough is enough’: Marcus Rashford calls out fans for ‘months’ of abuse

Danny Jones Danny Jones Marcus Rashford responds to fan abuse: 'enough is enough'

Manchester United star Marcus Rashford has put his foot down in a social media post, calling for an end to ‘months of abuse’ from both his own supporters and beyond.

It’s fair to say that the 26-year-old hasn’t been enjoying his best season in a United shirt and while he has had his moments this year – his goal against Arsenal and stunning opener in the Manchester derby, just to name a couple – he’s come under a lot of pressure from supporters.

Rashford previously came out to address the situation in a Players Tribune interview back in February, stating, “I can’t have people questioning my commitment to Man United”, but now the England international has reiterated the point after someone came to his defence on X.

Quoting a fan who wrote that “the way Marcus Rashford is being treated is absolutely disgusting”, calling the behaviour online and on matchdays in some cases as “cruel” and downright abuse”, he responded by declaring: “Enough is enough”.

Rashford breaks his silence on the recent abuse.

The Wythenshawe winger has already labelled doubts over his effort levels, love and loyalty to the club “ridiculous”, reiterating time and time again that he’s a boyhood Red, but that hasn’t stopped people continuing to criticise him online.

Sadly, while he’s also insisted that he “can take criticism” and headlines when his performances aren’t quite up to scratch, the negativity hasn’t just been limited to social media and has been spilling out into the matchday stands.

Reports of Rashford being booed off the pitch by his own supporters at Wembley during United’s admittedly chaotic performance against Coventry City in the FA Cup semi-final were confirmed by multiple sources at the time.

Although he didn’t comment on the response from the travelling Reds at the time, it’s now clear he was abundantly aware of the frosty reception as he was substituted, with many within the fan base and beyond calling the decision to boo your own players “classless” and “shameful”.

Many have drawn parallels to Harry Maguire’s treatment in recent years.

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With seven goals and five assists to his name across all competitions this season, it’s fair to say Marcus Rashford has been a far cry away from the heights he has managed to hit in recent years.

It was only last season that he hit a career-high record of 40 goal contributions, sitting as one of the most prolific players in all of Europe during another difficult season for the club, even managing to surpass club legend Andy Cole’s record.

Just goes to show how short people’s memories can really be – especially when it comes to football – and Erik ten Hag has already urged patience from his fans when it comes to his players, and not just his number ten.

‘The Beautiful Game’ is and always will be a fickle sport but it’s worth reminding of just how much the academy product has already delivered during his time at Man United. Anyone can have a tough season.

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Featured Images — Manchester United (via Instagram)

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