A day out with Manchester FC

MANCHESTER CITY Football Club and the National Football Museum have launched what they call the ‘Ultimate Football Day Out’ … a tour that gives sports fans the opportunity to experience both Manchester City’s iconic home ground and the museum. 

The experience, for both locals and visitors, includes a 90-minute, behind-the-scenes, guided tour of the Etihad Stadium and a visit to the National Football Museum, where guests get a £5 package to experience the Football Plus+ Penalty Shootout and trophy photos.

Commenting on the new tour package, Danny Wilson, operations director, at #ManchesterCityFC said:

‘The Manchester City Stadium and Club Tour is a behind-the-scenes look at what happens on a matchday at the Etihad Stadium. We continuously look for ways to enhance the tour so there is always something new. We have renovated our exhibition space to provide supporters with a more in-depth look at the club’s past, present and future, and teaming up with the National Football Museum, which has a large collection of football artefacts, is the perfect opportunity to provide visitors with an even greater insight into the history of football in Manchester and beyond.’

Special tours for groups of 15 or more can also be booked by contacting the club via www.mancity.com.

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Picture Credit:26614375@N00/3728668669">Welcome to Manchester Tevez</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com

Soccer scores for UK tourism

STATISTICS from #VisitBritain highlight the increasing value to the economy of international visitors attending football matches. 

VisitBritain’s report, #Football tourism scores for Britain, shows that the 800,000 international visitors to Britain last year who went to a football match spent a total of £684 million during their time in the country … a 15% rise, or an increase of £89 million, since the last research was done in 2010. While the overall global average spend on an international visit to Britain in 2014 was £636, visits including football match attendance had an average spend of £855.

It’s not just leisure visitors who enjoy football matches; out of the 800,000 total, more than 40,000 international business visitors went to a match during their stay.

The findings show that football is the number one sporting draw for international tourists to Britain. Of those visitors who gave their primary journey purpose to the UK as ‘watching sport,’ 73% said they had attended a football match.

The research also demonstrates football’s effectiveness in enticing international visitors to Britain at quieter times of the year and encouraging visitors from overseas to explore different parts of Britain. The North-West of England continues to be the region receiving the highest proportion of football-driven visits from overseas.

Looking at visits to specific stadiums, Old Trafford in Manchester and Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in North London were neck-and-neck, both receiving 109,000 international visits. Wembley’s popularity has grown significantly, with visits more than doubling since 2010.

Tourism Minister Tracey Crouch, said: ‘Britain is home to many of the world's favourite football clubs, so it's no surprise that more and more international visitors are going to football games while they are here. Millions of overseas tourists visit the UK every year and most take in the sights of London. But Britain has so much more to offer, so it's fantastic to see the positive role football is playing in showcasing key destinations in many different regions of the UK. It's great for local economies, great for football, and great for the UK's tourism industry."

The research was undertaken for VisitBritain by the Office for National Statistics as part of the International Passenger Survey during 2014.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7332125@N04/5131086496">Manuel La Costa, Marouane Chamakh and Denilson</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

Soccer legends to kick-off in Trinidad & Tobago

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO is gearing up to host a soccer tournament next summer. 

The British Airways Tobago Football Legends Challenge will kick-off on June 15, with teams representing top UK clubs such as Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, and Manchester United meeting top Caribbean sides.

To ensure a lasting legacy from the tournament, the players have agreed to participate in a community outreach programme which will see them visiting schools and clubs for soccer clinics and courses.

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Picture Credit: From Top: "Football Pallo valmiina-cropped" by Pallo_valmiina.jpg: Christopher Bruno via Wikimedia Commons; "Trinidad national museum 2006-23-02". Licensed via Wikimedia Commons;