Bobby's babes

STREET REDS RENAMED IN HONOUR OF UNITED LEGEND

- GRETA SIMPSON

THERE’S something poetic in the fact that more than 100 years of Manchester’s development can be seen from the playing fields of a school in Moss Side.

Ahead and to the right of Manchester Academy school’s football pitches, over Denmark Road, is a row of red brick Edwardian shops, round the corner from a street of tightly packed terraced houses.

Behind these are squat new-build apartment blocks – still in that red brick. These in turn are dwarfed by the towering skyscrapers that have come to be an icon of modern Manchester, silvery and glimmering in the weak August sun.

To many they represent a level of wealth and luxury that from here, one of the poorest areas of the city, can feel very far away.

One scheme which is attempting to address that imbalance, in a small but symbolic way, is Street Reds. Run by the Manchester United Foundation charity and funded by the Premier League, the scheme offers free football training at over 20 sites across Greater Manchester and beyond, including a session for children with disabilities.

The scheme running at Manchester Academy has now been renamed Sir Bobby’s Street Reds, in honour of the Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation, which will be funding the project. Sir Bobby himself inaugurated the scheme at the school back in 2016.

At a launch event last week, more than 60 children took to the pitch to hone their skills and play friendlies. Based in a school where there are more than 70 languages spoken, the turnout is diverse, including children from refugee families.

“We tend to work in the areas of highest social deprivation,” said John Shiels, chief executive of the charity. “One of the most limiting factors, without a doubt, is lack of money. All these young people had no choice in the background they come from.