Manchester City United!

The two Manchester rivals in the English Premier League are again coming together in solidarity with the victims of last May terror attack in Manchester where a suicide bomber targeted a concert by American singer, Ariana Grande at Manchester Arena.

At the end, 22 people were killed and many were injured. The two hitherto almost bitter rival clubs issued statements in sympathy with the May 22 killings.

They are taking a step further as both embark on pre-season tour in the United States where they will face each other in Houston next week.

In the match, Sports Village Square has gathered from US-based sports news outlet, Sporting News that City and United have agreed to wear shirts bearing the “worker bee” emblem. The worker bee was adopted as a motif for the city of Manchester during the industrial revolution and it has become a symbol of solidarity and respect for the city and with the victims of the May 22 terror attack.

In the wake of the attack, both clubs donated a combined £1 million to the “We Love Manchester Emergency Fund”, which will also benefit from both sets of match-worn shirts from next Thursday’s encounter being made available to fans in an auction.

“Manchester continues to show great strength and sense of community since May’s devastating attack and the thoughts of everyone at Manchester City remain with those affected,” Sporting News quoted City chief executive Ferran Soriano as saying.

“The worker bee symbolises everything that makes Manchester such a special city and our players will wear it on their shirts with immense pride, as a demonstration of solidarity with the Manchester community.”

Soriano’s United counterpart Ed Woodward added: “The city of Manchester has shown great strength and unity since the tragic terror attack in May, showing the country and the world how special this city really is.

“Having the worker bee on our shirts once again shows the community spirit of our city and football club and it is only natural that we continue to help all of those affected, through this fundraising and awareness, with millions of fans across the world watching this game.”