Sports & the Community

Manchester is known as a centre of sporting excellence, but some sporting stars are not content with excellence in their sport. Join us to celebrate two local stars who are determined to level the playing field for the next generation.

Alongside music, sport is an vital part of Greater Manchester's cultural identity. The city is has hosted every major domestic, continental & international football competition. It also hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games & the 2005 Paralympic World Cup.

Manchester plays a key role in the careers of some of the UK’s best known Olympians & Paralympians. Taekwondo star Lutalo Muhammed, BMX silver medallist Kye White and long-jumper Abigail Irozuru are just a few who live or train in the city region. 

Due to the rich sporting history, the city has developed a vast sporting infrastructure. In addition to 9 football teams and 7 rugby clubs, the city is home to the National Cycling Centre and National Speedway Stadium. Providing a platform for the sporting stars of the future. 

Marcus developed a keen interest in football – playing for local club Fletcher Moss Rangers at the tender age of five. By the age of seven he began to attract interest from Manchester City, Everton and Liverpool joining the academy at Manchester Utd. 

Since becoming a household name, Marcus has endeavoured to use his profile to influence political change through activism and campaign work. He is most well known for campaigning the UK government to end child poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.     

In October 2020, Marcus became an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. Following this achievement he vowed to continue his campaign work focusing on school meals for children and an increase to Universal Credit. 

Diane built on this early success to win a gold medal at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland and a bronze medal at the Commonwealth games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998. She also represented Great Britain at four Olympic Games between 1988 and 2000.

"In 2010 I set up the Diane Modahl Sports Foundation with my husband, Olympic coach Vicente Modahl, as a way to help young people from disadvantaged areas benefit from everything sport can offer; enabling them to make the most of themselves in sport, education & employability."

"We do our utmost to put young people at the centre of the solutions to protect their futures. The Young Person’s Guarantee was established by the Mayor in response to the ongoing struggles the coronavirus pandemic was having on young people across GM." 

As part of Diane's ongoing work to improve the prospects of young people she launched the Greater Manchester Tech Fund which has already distributed 567 digital kit bundles to young learners to prevent them becoming increasingly marginalised and disadvantaged.