A charity football match which featured a Manchester United side managed by Phil Neville and North West tech entrepreneurs helped raise £40,000 for Manchester’s Factory Youth Zone.
The second Reds V Blues charity football match saw the Reds of Manchester United legend Neville beat the Blues of former Manchester City and England winger Dennis Tueart 3-2 at Altrincham Football Club.
The game was organised by Will Lewis, OBI Property and Chris Davis, chief executive, MoneyPlus Group.
Factory Youth Zone chief executive Richard Marsh said: “A huge thank you to the players, managers, hosts, sponsors and supporters, raising £40k is an amazing achievement and it will undoubtedly make a difference to the young people we work with.
“We aim to encourage these young people to have dreams and aspirations, and to challenge themselves, and us, to achieve their goals.
“The support of Manchester’s business community, of which I am consistently overwhelmed by, continues to be vital.”
Lewis said: “Factory Youth Zone is a fantastic organisation and I am proud we are able to support them.
“I’d like to thank DWF, Carfinance 247, MoneyPlus Group and Russells Construction for their support this year and all the volunteer players.”
The match, which is now an annual fixture, brought together some of the Manchester’s best known names in business including tech names Reg and Louis Rix, the founders of CarFinance 24/7, and Steve Oliver, co-founder and group CEO, Music Magpie.
Former Stoke striker Ricardo Fuller was on the scoresheet for United.
The Factory Youth Zone is a charity which provides support for disadvantaged young people from Manchester.
It offers a wide range of activities including sports, arts, youth work sessions and specialist workshops with the aim of improving the lives of local young people in one of the most deprived areas of the UK.