Industry Shorts: Marcus Rashford, The Athletic, Man City
Marcus Rashford has sent an open letter to MPs, calling on the government to reverse its decision to cancel a scheme that provides free meal vouchers to school pupils during the summer.
The Manchester United player has raised money to supply around three million meals to vulnerable people during the lockdown period, working with charity FairShare and raising around £20m.
In his letter Rashford says from 2018-2019, nine out of every 30 children in any given classroom in the UK were living in poverty.
Sport publisher The Athletic has acquired podcast business Muddy Knees Media, incorporating the likes of The Totally Football Show into its digital offering.
Muddy Knees Media will continue to produce its regular football shows, as well as the BBC podcast ‘You’re Dead To Me’ and BBC Radio 4’s ‘Homeschool History.’
The pair say The Totally Football Show and other podcasts will remain free and ad-supported, but will be available to The Athletic subscribers without any ads.
Manchester City have launched a new three-part documentary series focusing on the lockdown period and football’s return ahead of the Premier League restart on Wednesday 17th June.
The new City Restart mini-series chronicles the suspension of football, showcasing the activities of the club’s players and staff behind the scenes, providing an account of the team’s return to action.
Detailing what happened across the club, with the installation of testing procedures, the team’s return to training, and the first match behind closed doors, the series follows the club staff to help create a safe return and also features interviews with manager Pep Guardiola and players.
The Great North Run has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The event, which would have staged its 40th race, was due to see some 55,000 runners take place across the half-marathon course.
Organisers say the decision to cancel the race – which raises over £25m for charity each year – was not taken lightly, but that it had been impossible to host the run with social distancing measures in place, while holding the event later in the year would not have guaranteed an improved situation.
Arsenal, along with their partner Intel and Computer Disposals Limited, will donate laptops to schoolchildren ‘over the coming weeks’.
The organisations will work with Islington Council to gift 250 reconditioned laptops to schoolchildren most in need and will come pre-loaded with Windows 10 to ensure pupils can access learning resources at home.
Arsenal in the Community says that the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the issue of digital exclusion, which has had an impact not just on student learning throughout the lockdown period, but also on mental health with some unable to keep in contact with family and friends.
Scottish Premiership side Rangers have partnered with online content platform Dugout.
The 54-time Scottish champions will provide archive and behind-the-scenes video footage of iconic players from the past and present for the platform.
