YET more accolades for Manchester as the city is crowned the ‘UK’s Greatest Sporting City 2015’, according to research from ESPN and the University of Gloucestershire and University of Bath.
More than 5000 fans were polled to rank 48 UK cities and towns
Fresh off the back of being named Shortlist’s ‘Best Place To Be A Man’ and the only UK place worth visiting in 2015 by the New York Times, Manchester has beaten out London, Glasgow, Liverpool and even the mighty Barnsley to top the sporting rankings..
More than 5000 fans were polled to rank 48 UK cities and towns on twelve factors including: value for money, success, history, venues and transport links.
Manchester recorded the highest score of 68, followed by London (65), Glasgow (63), Sunderland (59), Leeds (57), Liverpool (53) and Bristol (53).
Blackpool bottomed out in 48th place with a measly score of 7, whilst Stoke (27) and Bolton (28) came 46th and 45th respectively.
Northern cities pounded their southern rivals scoring seven of the top ten places.
Old Trafford Cricket GroundNick Brooks-Sykes, director of tourism at Marketing Manchester, part of the Manchester Growth Company said: “I am delighted that Manchester has been crowned “the UK’s Greatest Sporting City” by ESPN in recognition of the city’s fantastic sporting heritage.
“Manchester’s passion for sport has led to the establishment of truly world-class sporting facilities such as the National Cycling Centre; two of the world’s biggest football clubs who every four seasons provide a level of global exposure equivalent to hosting an Olympic Games; the National Cycling Centre, National Squash Centre and National Football Museum, to mention but a few”.
VisitEngland has recently launched a campaign to discover England’s ‘home of sport’ via nominations made on Twitter, you can get behind Manchester by tweeting your best sporting pictures using the hashtag #HomeOfSport.
