MANCHESTER NAMED BEST SPORTING CITY
MANCHESTER TAKES BEST SPORTING CITY CROWN
MANCHESTER has been named as the UK’s best sporting city for 2018.
It knocked Liverpool off top-spot to claim the crown in research on the best place to be a sports fan.
The success of the city’s two Premier League clubs – occupying the two top spots in last year’s table, and with Pep Guardiola’s City racking up a record 100 points and also claiming the Carabao Cup – saw Manchester rise up the table.
The accolade has been awarded by ESPN, which collaborated with the University of Bath on the fourth annual research project to discover the best place in the country to be a sports fan.
The survey asks fans of not just football, but also cricket and both codes of rugby, to score their city in a range of factors including the atmosphere, their club’s success, transport links, local talent, and their choice of sports.
Manchester topped the rankings after scoring highly in almost all of the 12 areas identified by fans as key to a great sporting city, those behind the survey said.
The city was the inaugural winner of ESPN’s Greatest Sporting City in 2015 and hasn’t dropped below second place since finishing behind Leicester in 2016 and Liverpool last year.
Along with footballing glory, the city’s success in other sports such as cycling and boxing helped it regain top spot.
Reacting to the results, United midfielder Ander Herrera said: “First of all for the history of this club, I think that makes the city very, very interesting, very attractive.
“Second, because the last two top positions in the league are two teams from Manchester, and also because two of the best managers in the world are in Manchester.
“Our stadium is amazing, everyone wants to play in our stadium, everyone wants to visit. I have a lot of friends asking me for the Manchester United tour every week. The rivalry between the two teams in the town, a lot of things, I cannot tell you just one answer.”
Steven Saunders, senior editor of ESPN.co.uk, said: “Manchester’s consistency has been impressive over the years. It has never dropped out of the top two, and now returns to first place in the fourth year.
“The success of the city’s football clubs has driven them back to the top – with City winning the League Cup and the Premier League, and United finishing second and reaching the FA Cup final.
“Manchester’s top score for success, combined with strong scores in important factors such as local talent, community and history makes them worthy winners.”
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “We are pleased to receive this confirmation from ESPN of Manchester’s status as the UK’s greatest sporting city.
“We are not just a power in professional and elite sport like football and cycling – but also in building participation right down to the grassroots.
“We are proud of our professional clubs, but for the people across the region who are passionate about junior and amateur sport – they should take immense pride in Manchester being named the UK’s greatest sporting city.”