Schoolchildren from across North Manchester have marked England’s early World Cup success with an inspirational football-themed event at Manchester’s newest independent cultural venue, Love Factory.
Pupils from primary schools in Collyhurst were invited to take part in the ‘City of Champions’ event at the new 89,000 sq ft multi-purpose venue, which is hosting screenings of every England World Cup fixture during the tournament.
The City of Champions event – sponsored by Victoria North developer Far East Consortium (FEC), contractor CRUK and HMG Paints – saw young football enthusiasts receive free coaching sessions from UEFA-qualified coaches Football Kings, as well as inspirational talks from the founders of Classic Football Shirts and Miss Kick.
The schools included in the City of Champions event were Saviours CofE Primary School, St Malachy’s Catholic Primary School and Abbott Community School.
Having already hosted 1,300 fans for England’s opening game vs Iran on Monday, Love Factory World Cup 2022 will present an experiential programme of events inspired by the beautiful game, with matches streamed live on three 200 sq ft screens. The Official Carling Fan Zone will combine live matches with unique exhibitions from Classic Football Shirts, interactive activities, street food vendors and exclusive hospitality.
Part of Manchester’s fast-changing New Town neighbourhood, the former Dantzic Warehouse has been leased by FEC to local creatives Connecting Dots Group. The new venue is just one of a number of sites being re-activated as part of FEC’s development of Victoria North – one of the UK’s largest urban regeneration projects, which will create 15,000 new homes in Manchester city centre over the next 10 years.
Olli Ryder, founder of Connecting the Dots, said: “We’re excited to bring this amazing space back into action for the city, with the World Cup acting as a great opportunity for people to see it for the first time. The site itself is uniquely steeped in the industrial history of Manchester, and will soon be home to an eclectic mix of high energy events, from food festivals and music events to exhibitions and theatre productions. With major broadcasters like Sky Sports already hosting events here, Love Factory is set to be a major addition to the city.”
Jake Scott-Thrale, asset manager at FEC, said: “It’s great to be working with Connecting the Dots on this initial activation and that we can use this building to bring together children from the various schools in the local community to learn more about the importance of sport in our wellbeing and how sport can connect people and communities”.