Stockport County FC have announced the launch of Stockport County Women alongside the appointment of Tracey Neville as Managing Director.
Founded in 1989 as Stockport County Ladies, the club has operated as a volunteer-run community organisation for 39 years. From the 2026-27 season, the team will compete under the new name, signalling a shift toward a high-performance programme.
As part of the development, the club have acquired Stockport Sports Village, which will serve as the home and training facility for the women’s team.
Neville joins the club to lead the strategic vision, moving from a support model to a dedicated leadership structure. She will sit on a newly formed board tasked with overseeing the team’s development and creating a pathway from grassroots to elite levels.
Simon Wilson, Chief Executive, Stockport County FC, said, “Today is about recognising where we have come from and setting out on the path to where we need to go. For 39 years, Stockport County Ladies has been built by volunteers, players and supporters who believed in women’s football long before it had the platform it has today.
“This change to Stockport County Women is a statement of intent. It reflects our ambition to create the same opportunities for girls and women in our community as we have for the men’s team, and to invest properly in the future of the women’s game.”
Tracey Neville, Managing Director, Stockport County Women, said, “Women’s football is at a defining point, and Stockport has the opportunity to do something special. This is a community club with deep roots, and my focus will be on creating a clear, credible pathway for girls and women to progress, while building the standards, culture and infrastructure needed to compete at the highest level.”
Marylebone Cricket Club has confirmed that Wormsley Cricket Ground will become its partner venue for an initial two-year period starting from the 2026 season.
The pilot programme is designed to alleviate significant operational pressure on pitches at Lord’s, which has faced an increasing number of match requests. Securing access to the ground in Stokenchurch will allow the MCC to meet rising fixture demand while protecting the sustainability and quality of surfaces at its home ground.
The agreement will see the MCC hire Wormsley to host a variety of cricket activities. Potential usage includes men’s and women’s MCC matches, Middlesex first and second team fixtures, Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup games, disability cricket, and commercial match days. Additionally, the venue may provide a training base for London Spirit.
Rob Lynch, MCC Director of Cricket & Operations, said: Lord’s is the most in-demand cricket ground in the world. That is a privilege but it also creates a genuine operational challenge for us. This partnership with Wormsley is a proactive, strategic solution. It helps protect Lord’s pitches, gives our Members more access to top-class cricket in a unique setting, and allows us to continue to serve the whole game. Crucially, it also gives us the space to innovate. These pilot years will allow us to learn, scale and ultimately expand MCC’s impact more sustainably.
Mark Getty said: This new partnership with MCC fits perfectly with my family’s vision and strategy for Wormsley, which is that, as well as being our home, Wormsley should be recognised for its associations with the very best in Sport and the Performing Arts. We are thrilled to have concluded this exciting new relationship with MCC and we look forward to bringing everything we can to the fulfilment of the future potential that both we and the MCC can see.
Creative communications agency Hatch has announced the launch of Hatch Sport & Communities, a new specialist division dedicated to delivering campaigns across the sporting landscape.
The new arm will work with brands, rights holders, sponsors, governing bodies, and grassroots organisations, aiming to bridge the gap between brand ambition and supporter expectation.
Billy Morton has returned to the agency to head the new division as Sport & Campaigns Lead. Morton previously spent eight years at Hatch and has experience in delivering sport and community campaigns. He will work closely with Managing Partner Matt Peden and Director Victoria Tidmarsh.
The team also includes Gracie Hill as Account Executive. Hill joins with experience from working on the Women’s Rugby Union World Cup 2025 in England and with Warrington Wolves.
The launch follows the agency’s recent reveal of its ‘Supercharged Storytelling’proposition. Hatch Sport & Communities develops this further with ‘FANconnection’an approach designed to engage with fans.
Matt Peden, Managing Partner, said: “Sport has always been a core pillar of Hatch’s offer, and over the past 17 years we’ve worked with an extensive list of brands and rights holders, from bet365 and The Hundred through to British Cycling and UK Sport. We feel now is the time to take our offer to the next level with a dedicated focus.
“By using the agency’s specialist knowledge, and leaning into Hatch’s broader core capabilities across PR, social, content and activation, our proposition is anchored in guiding brands to communicate with fans with meaning, not just messaging.”
Yorkshire County Cricket Club have expanded their partnership with Ampleforth College.
Building on a long-standing relationship, the college will now serve as the North Yorkshire hub for the performance pathway boys’ winter training. It will also host games across both boys’ and girls’ squads throughout the summer. The partnership includes further investment to develop the coaching and training facilities at the college.
The agreement will see the MetroBank One Day Cup fixture between Yorkshire Women and Surrey played at the venue on 26th August. Ampleforth will be hosting its first-ever competitive professional fixture. The college already hosts the Ampleforth Cricket Festival annually.
Gavin Hamilton, General Manager of Cricket at Yorkshire CCC, said, “We are delighted to confirm that Yorkshire County Cricket Club will be bringing Tier 1 women’s cricket to Ampleforth in 2026. The facilities and the unique setting that Ampleforth provides will showcase the standard of outgrounds required to support the continued progression of the women’s game, and we’re very much looking forward to seeing elite women’s cricket played there.”
City in the Community, the official charity of Manchester City Football Club, has named FuelHub as its official soccer schools meal supplier.
Under the new 12-month agreement, the meal prep company will supply nutritionist-designed meals to children aged 6–16 attending CITC Soccer Schools across Greater Manchester. The programme covers 39 days of activity at venues including the City Football Academy, Connell College in East Manchester, Trinity Sports Centre in Moss Side, and Manchester Enterprise Academy in Wythenshawe.
The partnership has been established to address holiday hunger, ensuring participants have access to food while taking part in structured football sessions. Participants will also be encouraged to take additional meals home to support families and reinforce healthy eating habits. The collaboration aligns with the Government’s recently launched Child Poverty Strategy, which aims to lift around 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030.
Later this year, the two organisations will deepen their collaboration through a co-branded signature range. The project will place young people at the heart of meal development, giving them a creative role in shaping options designed for children.
Michelle Laithwaite, Co-Founder and CEO at FuelHub, said, “We’re proud to work with CITC to ensure young people are properly fuelled while taking part in their Soccer Schools. We transform the health and wellbeing of everyday high-performers through effortless, nutritionist-designed meals.
“This programme allows us to give children the energy, confidence, and focus to get the most from every session, while also helping them build healthy habits that can extend beyond the Soccer Schools into their daily lives.”
Special Olympics GB has been named as the official charity partner for the 2026 Olympic Park Series.
The organisation has agreed a partnership to support the London-based 5k and 10k participation runs throughout the upcoming year. Taking place over 12 dates in 2026, the series covers a flat course that passes venues that hosted the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The collaboration will support the 2026 National Summer Games. The event is set to see more than 1,700 children and adults with an intellectual disability compete in 12 different sports.
Laura Baxter MBE, Chief Executive, Special Olympics GB, said, “As a charity that uses the power of sport to champion inclusivity and help people with intellectual disabilities fulfil their potential, we wanted to find more sporting opportunities that can drive this change.
“We have a huge year coming up in 2026, with a soon to be announced National Summer Games set to bring fantastic opportunities for more than 1,700 children and adults with an intellectual disability to compete in 12 different sports across the summer.
“Working with Run for Charity as partner of the Olympic Park Series provides a fantastic opportunity for this. Its 5K and 10K runs are very inclusive, extremely well-managed and provide an excellent fundraising option for anyone to join in. We look forward to cheering on the thousands of participants in the coming year.”
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