Sports bodies pitch up in Manchester

Basketball and Taekwondo are coming to Manchester and putting some roots down.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and USA Basketball are bringing their teams across to Manchester, starting with the Women’s National Basketball Association’s (WNBA) Atlanta Dream.

Sport Taekwondo UK has officially opened their new headquarters in the new East Manchester Academy.

The first game by Atlanta Dream is on 29 May at the MEN Arena. Their opponents will be announced at a later date. Atlanta Dream is the most recent team to join the WNBA and have made it to the last two playoffs and reached the WNBA finals in only their third year.

USA Basketball men’s and women’s Olympic gold-winning national teams are to play Global Community Cup tour games in July 2012, also at the arena, in preparation for London 2012.

Manchester is also set to host the first preseason NBA game outside London, in autumn 2013, with the teams to be announced at a later date.

Manchester City Council, which set up the partnership with the NBA and USA Basketball, claims this partnership helps strengthen Manchester’s reputation for staging successful major international sporting events that bring long term social and economical benefits to the city.

Councillor Michael Amesbury, executive member for Culture and Sport, said: “The matches will fit into our varied and innovative sports events calendar and we are sure they will not only bring thousands of visitors to the city and create huge media interest, but will also inspire Mancunians to participate, officiate, spectate and volunteer in their chosen sports.”

The council has also helped bring another sport to the city through Sport Taekwondo UK’s new headquarters in Beswick, at the East Manchester Academy.

The Academy, which opened in September 2010 with an intake of 200 pupils, is to be home to high performance coaches and athlete support staff who will develop athletes in preparation for the World Championships in Korea later this year and the London 2012 Olympics.

Guy Hutchence, principal of The East Manchester Academy said: "I am delighted to welcome Sport Taekwondo UK to The East Manchester Academy in what promises to be an exciting partnership which will inspire our pupils towards sporting success and personal bests.”