Wythenshawe Amateurs FC fans have today begun their epic 35-mile charity walk to their final league game in an effort to raise money for the club and The Christie NHS Foundation.
Turning their next away day into a fantastic feat of fundraising, a faithful legion of Ammies have decided to walk 35 miles, or just over 56 kilometres, from their home ground in Sharston, Wythenshawe, all the way to Foley Meir FC’s stadium in Stoke-on-Trent. Crikey.
For context, this massive trek is about an hour and a quarter in the car and would take you nearly two and a half hours on the train, but these lot are doing over 11 hours all on foot.
The best part is, as well as managing to get vice-chairman Martin Howe involved, they’re doing the whole thing not only to raise money for the beloved Christie cancer research and treatment centre. Absolute legends.
You can donate to the cause on the above link.#UpTheAmmies 🔵⚪️
— Wythenshawe Football Club (@WythenshaweFC) April 14, 2023
Setting off around 10am on Friday, Howe, along with fellow walkers Adam Lewis and Ash Butterely, began the first day of their charity walk, setting off from the Selco Builders Warehouse Community Stadium and embarking on their journey in the most fittingly Mancunian way possible: in the wind and rain.
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As the route has it, they are set to travel through Wilmslow, Alderley Edge and Congleton before stopping over for the night and setting back out into Biddulph, down the east side of Stoke-on-Trent and on towards Foley Meir’s McIntosh Arena.
With their fourth team member Glenn Smith due to join them the following morning, they should arrive in time for kick-off at 3pm on Saturday.
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The last time we heard from them, they had just reached Alderley Edge just around 1pm.
It looks like the lads are already putting in a great shift and will no doubt be welcomed as heroes by the travelling Wythenshawe AFC supporters and Foley fans alike when they complete the charity walk.
As explained in the description of the JustGiving page, the full route has been shared with Ammies and Greater Manchester locals alike, with the organisers encouraging anyone who wants to do their bit to get involved should they wish.
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Alternatively, you can simply donate to the fundraiser HERE.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
14th April 2023 
