Manchester United and Manchester City have donated a combined £100,000 to help food banks in Greater Manchester.
The city rivals have joined forces to help meet increased demand from vulnerable people as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
City and United fans’ groups usually collect supplies outside Old Trafford and the Etihad before home games, but this has been interrupted by the suspension of football.
In a joint statement, Manchester City and Manchester United said: “We are proud of the role our supporters play in helping local food banks and recognise the increased strain likely to be placed on these charities by the impact of coronavirus.
“At a time of challenge for our community, we are pleased to come together with our fans to help vulnerable members of society in a City United.”
Each club is giving £50,000 to the Trussell Trust, which supports a network of over 1,200 food bank centres, including 19 in the Greater Manchester area which will be the beneficiaries of the donation.
The ECB Board has agreed that no professional cricket will be played in England and Wales before 28 May due to the COVID-19 pandemic. — England and Wales Cricket Board (@ECB_cricket) March 20, 2020
Meanwhile, the virus continues to wreak havoc with the sporting calendar, with the domestic cricket campaign to be revised after the season was put on hold until May 28.
With the exception of the Gallagher Premiership, rugby union in England, Scotland and Wales came to a halt on Friday, while the Betfred World Snooker Championship was postponed.
The Badminton Horse Trials and the Royal Windsor Horse Show were also cancelled.
Portsmouth have confirmed that James Bolton, Andy Cannon, Sean Raggett and Haji Mnoga have tested positive for coronavirus after the Sky Bet League One club received a second batch of test results on Friday night.
📰 #Pompey can confirm that three players have tested positive for coronavirus ⬇️https://t.co/PyTzi5sSFa — Portsmouth FC (@Pompey) March 21, 2020
Pompey’s players were tested following their FA Cup clash against Arsenal after several of the Gunners squad had been in contact with Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis on the night of their Europa League tie.
Marinakis confirmed he had the virus on March 10.
Portsmouth chief executive Mark Catlin told the club’s website: “Football is not immune from this virus and I can assure you that it only really hits home when those that you know contract it.
Thank you for people’s concerns I’m feeling good now but self isolating so not to spread anything, if anyone’s come into contact with me over last couple of weeks be careful who you are around, stay safe 👍🏻 https://t.co/zdjOcIQoWp — Sean Raggett (@SeanRaggett) March 21, 2020
“All the players were in good spirits and perfectly calm – showing mild or no symptoms – and are looking forward to overcoming it as quickly as possible.”
Defender Raggett tweeted: “Thank you for people’s concerns I’m feeling good now but self isolating so not to spread anything, if anyone’s come into contact with me over last couple of weeks be careful who you are around, stay safe.”
