Celebs team up for charity football match in aid of Manchester Arena charities
Report by Tim Scott, ITV News Granada Reports
Celebrities, sports stars and other famous faces have taken part in a football match in aid of charities set up following the Manchester Arena terror attack.
Twenty-two people died in the attack at an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017.
In memory of the lives lost that day, five charities were set up: The Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust, Liv’s Trust, The Megan Hurley Foundation, The Remembering Nell Foundation, and Eilidh’s Trust.
Now, for only the second time, well-known stars from the world of sport and entertainment come together for a Manchester Remembers football match to raise money for the charities and remember those who were killed.
Those taking part this year includes former I'm A Celebrity winner Danny Miller, comedian Jason Manford and boxing legend Ricky Hatton, who are all part of the celebrities squad.
Also in that team is former Olympic sprinter Dwain Chambers, the son of football legend George Best, Callum, and Emmerdale actor Jay Kontzle.
For the Legends side, former England internationals Nicky Butt, Wes Brown and Trevor Sinclair are playing, alongside Frank Sinclair, Colin Hendry and John Macken.
Newly-appointed Leeds United manager Sam Allardyce, who was the boss of Everton, will be managing the Legends side, while ex-England star Peter Reid will manage the celebrities.
Play kicks off at 3pm at Boundary Park, the home of Oldham Athletic.
However, from 1pm, there will be performances by Hunter and the Wolves, a group whose frontman Lee Hunter's sister Lisa died in the Arena attack, and the Courtbetweeners, a tribute band of the Courteeners. In addition, Rowetta from Happy Mondays will perform as the teams enter the pitch.The first Manchester Remembers match, hosted last year, raised more than £80,000 and was won 8-3 by the Legends.
Paul Corrigan and Aaron Lee founded Manchester Remembers. Arron was a serving police officer, who was one of the first responders on the scene following the attack. He's now a firefighter.
He said: “Manchester Remembers are really grateful to all at WeDo Business Services for their kind sponsorship of our event and all the support they give us.
"Without their backing, it simply wouldn’t be possible to put on our special event, which is carried in the hearts of so many across Manchester and beyond.
“We organised the game last year to mark five years since the Arena bombing. There was an amazing response with overwhelming demand for it to take place again and for it to be held every year after this, which we hope will happen.”
Mark Lindsay, Group Chief Executive of WeDo Business Services, added: “We love Manchester. It’s where our business began, where a lot of our team grew up and the place they call home.
“As a group we support numerous local and national charities and we’re really proud to be back supporting this special event once again.
"It’s amazing to be able to play a small part in honouring the victims of the Manchester Arena attack and to help raise funds for charities set up in the wake of the tragedy."