Trending

You can swap your ‘extortionate’ England shirt for a free holiday

A £125 shirt or a week in Turkey... (Contains affiliate links)

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 22nd March 2024

A new amnesty is allowing people to swap their England shirt (the price of which has been labelled ‘outrageous’) for a literal holiday.

It means that England fans who have splashed out on the new kit could swap it – and our gloomy home nation – for the sunny climes of Spain.

The England shirt amnesty comes from package holiday experts On The Beach, who are targeting everyone who’s been upset by the launch of the new strip this week.

Fans have been criticising the price of the new England kit since Nike released it this week.

A replica England shirt will set you back £84.99 and the authentic ‘Dri-FIT Adv’ versions that the players wear are being sold at a whopping £124.99.

ADVERTISEMENT

Many have also questioned the change to the St George’s cross on the collar of the shirt – it’s now a striped pattern of purples, blues and reds, rather than the usual solid scarlet (personally think it looks alright…)

Even Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have kicked off about the flag, like there aren’t bigger projects for them to be working on right now.

ADVERTISEMENT

Now On The Beach are joining the outraged people online and adding to the call for the strip to be changed.

And in the meantime, if you hate the new kit that much that you can’t bear to look at the one you’ve purchased, you can send it off to the holiday company and they’ll send you on holiday instead.

You can swap your 'outrageous' England shirt for a holiday in the On The Beach amnesty
You can swap your ‘outrageous’ England shirt for a holiday in the On The Beach amnesty. Credit: Nike

On The Beach is promising to swap the £124.99 shirts for a £250 holiday voucher, double the cost of the shirt, to spend on a trip.

ADVERTISEMENT

They’ve highlighted a couple of holidays you can get for that price, including seven nights at the Club Munamar Beach Resort in Dalaman in Turkey (from £248pp) and the Alegria Maripins in the Costa Brava in Spain (from £235pp).

Zoe Harris, chief customer officer at On the Beach, said: “Along with millions of England football fans we can’t believe that the England flag has been changed on the nation’s strip.

“British holidaymakers watching the Euros abroad wear that shirt with pride, but we have no doubt that they’ll be wearing classic strips this summer and not this so called ‘playful’ update.

“So, we’re taking action. Anyone who has bought the shirt and wants to get rid can send us the strip and we will give them a £250 holiday voucher in return.”

Nike said that the update was meant to be a ‘playful’ change that would ‘unite and inspire’ fans for the Euro 2024 tournament.

ADVERTISEMENT

Zoe Harris added: “I know many of our customers will be repping the retro shirts but if you have taken a punt on the new England strip and you’re disappointed with the unnecessary changes that have been made, we’re here to take it off your hands.”

If you own one of the new authentic England shirts, you can send it to On the Beach’s head office at: On the Beach, England Shirt Amnesty, 5 Adair St, Greater, Manchester M1 2NQ, along with your contact name, address and number.

Fans have until 7 April to send their official shirt in and On the Beach will contact those who have taken part to send them a £250 holiday voucher.

Read more

Featured image: On The Beach

Trending

Co-op Live has been named the number one arena in Europe following its debut year

Danny Jones Danny Jones Co-op Live arena best in Europe

Despite a rocky opening month or so, Manchester’s Co-op Live made the ultimate instant recovery and has now been named the number one arena not just in the UK but all of Europe.

Manc music venues being best in class? Sounds about right.

Yes, even despite some obstacles, delays and early hiccups, Co-op Live‘s debut year as a live music and indoor entertainment venue has seen it beat out the likes of the long-established and iconic O2 in London to take the top spot.

The inaugural 12 months of the arena have not only seen it welcome all manner of music legends, as well as live sporting events such as the UFC and WWE, but the arena welcomed more visitors than any other venue across the continent during that time.

co-op live top venue for ticket sales in europe
Credit: Press Shot (supplied)

Hosting 105 events since opening, Co-op Live was officially ranked the number one arena for gross ticket sales in the UK and Europe by Pollstar this week.

Names to have graced the industry-leading stage so far include Liam Gallagher, Stevie Nicks and Take That; Peter Kay, Elbow, Sabrina Carpenter, Paul McCartney, and so many more.

Commenting on the successful start, Tim Leiweke (CEO and chairman of the Oak View Group behind the venue) said: “Our ambition was to bring the world’s best music arena to one of the world’s greatest music cities and we are thrilled with the reaction from fans and artists alike over this past year.

“Co-op Live’s revolutionary acoustics investment has already attracted some of the world’s biggest artists and events to Manchester, with many more to come.  And our sustainability commitment will ensure we remain responsible contributors to Manchester and the planet for years to come. 

“We believe that amazing venues can transform cities for the better, and Co-op Live has done just that.”

It’s fair to say we’ve had some truly unforgettable nights in there already – and that’s just in the last month alone. Case and point:

Read more:

Artists themselves have fallen in love with it as well, with LG himself putting it on a par with one of the most iconic arenas on the planet.

With a continued commitment to achieving ‘Net Zero’ status too, the venue’s carbon reduction technologies, solar panels, heat pumps and rainwater harvesting, not to mention the recently refreshed CityLink walking in partnership with the Climate Pledge, are all things we can be proud of.

Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, went on to add: “We are delighted with the success of Co-op Live’s first year, and to see it taking the top spot off London.

“It shows Manchester is the home of live music in the UK, with Co-op Live bringing so many exclusives from artists like Bruce Springsteen to the city and Oasis playing massive hometown shows this summer – 2025 is going to be one of the biggest ever for our city’s music scene.”

Meanwhile, things are feeling less fortunate at the grassroots end of the spectrum, as the Music Venue Trust is imploring people to get behind a vulnerable Manc music institution.

Music venue charity issues ‘shocked’ statement ahead of impending Manchester closure
We can’t forget about the small-cap venues that get things started.

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

Featured Images — The Manc Group

Trending

25,000 free footballs are being given away across the UK

Danny Jones Danny Jones Barlcays bank giving 1000 free football across the UK

A total of 25,000 free footballs are up for grabs this month as part of a new scheme from Barclays, who are giving them away to mark a special anniversary.

The British multinational universal bank, which boasts over 850 branches and more than 48 million customers worldwide, has been supporting the beautiful game for a quarter of a century now and has been the primary Premier League sponsor since the 2001/02 season.

Approaching 25 years helping fund and promote English football, they’ve come up with a new initiative to celebrate, simply called the ‘Lost Ball Project‘.

We’ve all seen scenes like these before.

barclays free footballs
lost ball project
Credit: Barclays (supplied)

Tapping into the national and generational memory of losing a ball to a pond, up a tree, over a fence or on a roof and so on, Barclays are making up for those heartbreaking little losses – one ball at a time.

Lost Ball will see the bank give away 25k footballs across the UK, with Barclays customers able to claim a free ball for themselves or someone else who has lost theirs.

Already up and running, the scheme is off to a flyer and free footies will be available until Thursday, 22 May, so we wouldn’t wait around.

The bank has played an integral role throughout the British football pyramid for decades now, sponsoring to only the Premier League but also the WSL, Barclays Women’s Championship; the Northern Irish Women’s Football Association, Scottish Women’s Championship and the Scottish Women’s League One

They’ve even put together this emotive, albeit a bit tongue-in-cheek video:

Excellent song choice.

As they put it, the mission of the Lost Ball Project is simple: “Let’s keep the nation playing the beautiful game. Because there’s no football without grassroots football.”

In addition to backing established leagues, they have continued to support the country’s footballing community at large, especially in terms of the women’s game.

For instance, the Barclays Girls’ Football School partnership with The FA has seen the number of participating schools rise from 3,000 in 2019 to 20,000 in 2024, helping more than 2.5 million schoolgirls access football.

Important work done from the ground up.

Credit: Supplied

Barclays’ Group Head of Sponsorship, Tom Corbett, said in a statement: “We are immensely proud of our pioneering work and funding to grassroots football over the past 25 years.

Giving away 25,000 balls to replace our customers’ ‘Lost Balls’ means they will never be without the one thing you need to be able to play the game we’ve supported at Barclays for all these years.”

If you bank with the group, you can find out how to claim your free football HERE.

We quite fancy a kick around now.

Read more:

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

Featured Images — Barclays (supplied)

More Trending

Eurovision 2025 stage

Audio

Eurovision 2025 final to be screened live in cinemas across Greater Manchester

Swearing

Trending

Only 37% Brits claim they use swear words every single day

Patrice Evra MMA debut fighter

Sport

Former Manchester United star Patrice Evra is set to make his MMA debut very soon

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches