Everyone is well aware of the current restrictions that are in operation within the North East due to the increased levels of positive Covid 19 and how self-isolation is having a serious impact on members of our community. 

One such group being impacted are those in our student community; living away from their normal family support. It is therefore no surprise that we have been made aware of an urgent request for help to deliver food parcels to students who are currently self-isolating.

300 students living in private accommodation across the city are self-isolating. Our two Universities have food parcels to give to them but have no way to deliver.

Volunteers with vehicles are needed to support the deliveries of food parcels on Saturday 3rd October Full expenses and fuel costs will be paid and the food parcels will be able to fit into a normal car. Guidance on how to conduct the deliveries in a safe and Covid secure manner will be given.

If you can give up some time to help then please contact Joe Kirwin; Community Wellbeing Officer, Adult Social Care & Integrated Services Newcastle Civic centre on 07812 517266

Dear NUFC Fans Utd

Re: Newcastle United Football Club Takeover

Thanks for getting in touch with such a well thought out letter. It's good to see fans coming together and making your voice heard. Newcastle's fans have a superb track record of standing up to racism in the game, and the generosity in supporting our food banks shows our region's character.

The proposed takeover of Newcastle United raises a lot of issues. There's a frustration with the way the Premier League has handled the bid. There are concerns about investment in our region. And, of course, there are hopes about investment in the club so we can see on-the-pitch success return to St James' Park.

Let's be really honest here, the reason feelings are running so deep about this takeover is because the current owner is so profoundly unpopular. Fans desperately need some good news.

NUFC has a great history, and a passionate fan base. Success on the pitch raises the spirits of our city. We need an owner who has ambition for the club, and who takes fans seriously.

But if this recent saga has confirmed anything, it's that the ownership of football clubs is precarious.

I remember Chronicle articles from back in June 2007 where fans were saying Mike Ashley's takeover was good news, because we'd now have the financial muscle to compete for the top four. He was buying rounds for Toon fans in the Blu Bamboo in the Bigg Market. There was optimism about his ownership. We all know the catalogue
of what's happened since, including the decision to rename St James' Park "The Sports Direct Arena".

That's why I think it's important to be honest with you - we should not tie our region's prosperity to something as volatile as the ownership of the football club, or it’s on the pitch success. We've been heartbroken too many times. My job is to provide the most sustainable future we can.

That's why as Mayor I've invested £2.6 million into the Newcastle United Foundation's Murray House project, supported by Shola Ameobi. This facility will provide a community hub, support local kids into work, and fund engagement and outreach work across the whole North of Tyne.

We've put £37 million into a Green New Deal, to get the offshore renewables industries along the Tyne and Blyth buzzing. That includes £2 million to retrain workers from fossil fuel industries into low-carbon jobs - it's important no one gets left behind. And £10 million to develop local low carbon businesses.
​
We're investing £23 million a year into skills funding, so our people can get better jobs. We're putting £10 million into attracting businesses here, including the 1000 jobs Verisure have already announced. There are many more in the pipeline.

Another £10 million is going into boost our fast-growing digital industry to create more jobs. We're putting £24 million into developing housing on brownfield sites, creating more affordable homes, keeping the greenbelt green, and creating jobs.

We've allocated £6 million to develop a cultural and events programme, including £3.5 million to boost tourism. This will be adapted to work in a post-Covid environment.

Everything we're doing is underpinned by our Good Work Pledge, which guarantees proper wages and fair employment. All told this will boost our local economy by £billions and create many thousands of good jobs here.
This is just the start. We're facing tough times because of the Covid-recession. I'm spending pretty much every minute of the day trying to wring extra funds and devolved powers from central government, including £600 million for transport, to address the decades long under investment in the North East.

Regarding the protracted delays by the Premier League on the consortium takeover, I'm afraid I only know what is already in the public domain. My understanding is that initially there were concerns about TV piracy, and later a lack of clarity about who would be the beneficial owners. What the truth of these matters is, I'm afraid I don't know any more than you do. The lack of information coming from the club and the Premier League is disrespectful of fans.
I've supported Chi Onwurah to carry the baton on this issue in her role as the MP who covers St James' Park. She's raised petitions, asked questions and lobbied the
             
Premier League. Just like a good football team, there's no point in everybody chasing the ball. I'm fully supportive of Chi, and think she's doing a cracking job on it. I've liaised with Chi on this, and I've signed the petition. I'm in touch with Chi again, to see if I can help further.

Just to clear up a point. You refer to a letter from a member of the North of Tyne cabinet, which in fact came from Pat Ritchie, who is not a member of NTCA cabinet, but is the Chief Executive of Newcastle City Council.
You are absolutely right to say that investment opportunities exist independently of the club ownership. The East Pilgrim Street development has been in the public domain long before the proposed NUFC takeover. The land is already owned by the Reuben brothers. As for the architecture question about planning permission, given that this is a live investment proposition, I have to remain impartial. This is to prevent any subsequent legal challenges around predetermination.

Certainly, some planning permission has already been granted. I'd advise using Newcastle City Council's planning portal for the latest updates, and to submit any comments on applications.

Regardless of our wider economy, Newcastle United's on-the-pitch success is important for its own sake. Football is a cornerstone of our culture. Newcastle United is a great club with a proud history.

The Premier League and club owners must remember who, ultimately, funds the game. It's not club owners - it's the fans who buy season tickets, buy merchandise and pay for TV subscriptions. I think fans deserve a bigger say in how football should be run. If you're running any campaigns to give fans a bigger voice in the game, I'll be happy to add my voice and support you.
All the best

Jamie Driscoll
Mayor, North of Tyne Combined Authority

There is nothing more glorious to our ears than a proper Northumbrian accent. The rolling guttural North Northumberland, the unique Ashington twang, the swooping machine gun rhythm of urban Tyneside; all of them make your heart soar - as you listen to the wisdom of Albert from Wooler on Total Sport after a 2-0 win.

Our accent has been our identity for centuries. George MacDonald Fraser, a Cumbrian Scot avers that Shakespeare wrote his Harry Hotspur lines with his famous Northumbrian accent in mind. He quotes (in his book “The Steel Bonnets”, the history of the border reivers) one of the Tyneside Marcher-Lords saying “I never sold none” (concerning some disputed missing horses) and points out that southerners would confuse a Northumbrian with a Scot out of ignorance and prejudice, not because we have the same accent. A 19th Century Parliamentary Committee claimed not to understand George Stephenson, the man from Tyneside who transformed the world with his instinctive engineering genius. The developments necessary to make life better, food cheaper and manufacturing more efficient were delayed by their stupid snobbery. The posh Sir Humphrey Davy could not believe that George Stephenson’s pitman’s lamp was better than his. How could an ignorant northerner be cleverer than him? He was though. In the 1970’s a Benfield School kid was rejected by an Oxbridge College as they claimed “we thought he said he was getting 3 E’s”; instead of the “A’s” that he said, and subsequently got, but didn’t go there. This cultural aggression is from the same dark place that saw kilts banned, Gaelic banned, natives “civilised” and imperial gin and tonic snobbery reign to this day.

Another Benfield School kid who left in the 1970’s didn’t get the chance to be rejected by an Oxbridge College; he played football. Despite his own doubts about his ability and physique; despite his homesickness and the 300 mile distance; he knew it was the shipyards or football. He chose football, even if it was Gillingham, even if he missed his mam and dad, missed the familiar voices and home, he started his career as a little quiet kid a long way from home. George Caulkin has a fine article in “The Athletic” about this. Steve Bruce’s career took him from Gillingham to Norwich to Manchester then, as a manager, to Sheffield, Birmingham, London, Sunderland, Wigan, Hull and Sheffield again. Those places all have a distinct accent. He is perhaps, Benfield Schools highest achieving footballer in terms of medals, cups and titles. His Man Utd. shirt is on their wall as another one who got away. Then he got the chance to come home to Newcastle. He admits he dropped Sheffield Wednesday in the clarts for that chance. Despite following Rafa, despite working for Ashley, despite the warnings from people who knew what he was walking into, he came home. The call of his homeland was more important than the morality of keeping a contract of employment in Yorkshire. I agree with that. It’s called loyalty. 
​
Many of us had to move away from home for work, education or family. That separation affects us all in different ways. Your Gran would send the Sunday Sun down, you’d treasure a familiar accent when you heard one. But you couldn’t shake the feeling that either your city wasn’t good enough to keep you, or you weren’t good enough to stay. It’s the same feeling that can overpower any emigrant, especially in the pre-internet, social media days. Then you’d never see Newcastle on the telly unless “The Likely Lads” was being repeated. Emigration can make you more “whey ye bugger exhibitionist” or smooth off your accent so you can communicate with their new workmates, friends, partners or even your own children. Accents are not inherited, your kids will learn theirs in the playground, wherever that is, and some parents (like the Donald brothers from Viz) will force their kids into “elocution” to unlearn their native tongue. A mother tells her daughter off for saying “ah man stobbitt” (stop it), not because she is any way ashamed of any facet of her city and people but because she “didn’t want people to think she was ignorant in the future” Because she knows ignorant people judge you on your accent. Still, to this very day…

I don’t know Steve Bruce at all. I’ve never met him or been in his company. The people who have that I’ve met all say what a “nice feller” or lovely lad” he is; he doesn’t seem to have the savage temper or alpha-male intimidation or inscrutable scowl that other managers have had here (most of them useless). But I’ve no doubt Steve Bruce had to moderate his accent over the years to be understood. His job entails communication; as a centre-half you spend your time shouting and organising; as a manager it’s the same. You don’t have time to be doing the “yer what?” as someone doesn’t clear the ball, or track back, or fetch a cup of tea.

So I get that people may not rate him professionally. They have that right, although I’d say that luck, decency and hard work will always deliver something positive – and he seems to have all of those last season. I get that they look at his record at smaller clubs than Newcastle United and don’t see a plethora of success, although we’ve had title-winning managers who failed, local heroes who failed, ex and future England managers who failed (not Bobby like!) and far worse men, who’ve had more credit given. I understand the Rafa context; we all do. But I met Rafa; he described his team as “we”, but he didn’t mean Newcastle United his then employer. He meant “his team of coaches and assistants” that had been together for decades. Rafa’s football team is maybe Real Madrid. Steve Bruce’s team is Newcastle United. The team he supported as a boy, the team he was a ballboy for at the League Cup Final in 1976. His team, his people; us.

Of course he doesn’t have the same profile, fame, and experience as Rafa. The insults we all learned when he was Sunderland manager are easy to remember. I get that he has a broken nose and carries a bit of weight. George says he always worried about his physicality. He doesn’t have the same ability to march us into battle like Keegan; he doesn’t inspire like Bobby, he doesn’t project implacable obsession like Rafa, but…. maybe we should support him a bit though? We didn’t have the choice of who our “Head Coach” would be; Rafa chose us, his contract was not renewed, and someone had to do it. Am I saying it should be Klopp, or Pep Guardiola? Of course, but they wouldn’t come. Again, read George Caulkin’s brilliant article, “Riding the black and white tiger” for a professional insight into what managing Newcastle United is and remember Richard Dinnis, John Carver, Joe Kinnear, and Steve “Schteeve” MacLaren ,(maybe some justifiable accent mockery there..). Might we try to support one of our own whilst acknowledging he’s not everyone’s favourite…like Jack Charlton, another local favourite who didn’t fit everyone’s vision of good football. No one complained about Jack’s accent though…

Attacking his accent though, it’s one for the psychiatrists maybe….Is it his Geordie accent they don’t like? Don’t people understand that it’s changed cos he’s worked away for 40 odd years? Do they conflate his accent with his intellect? Do they think he’s tried to polish his elocution up to appeal to “polite society”? Are they seriously telling us that they believe his own “working-class East-End Newcastle shipyard origins that’s picked up various bits over the years” in many different parts of England is wrong? Would they prefer he get lessons from Albert in Wooler instead of looking for a centre-half? Are they falling into the age-old trap that believes some expert from the south must be clever because he talks cockney/posh? Is this a manifestation of self-hatred? From angry men who have been complaining for decades whilst nothing has changed. From people who “want success” but don’t invest positivity in their own community’s football team - Newcastle United. Who claim that not going to the match, (or going to non-league with pitchside pints), makes them “better supporters” than the people who dutifully continue to turn up at Gallowgate with no expectation except hope that things can change. The truth is that Newcastle United have seen this summer that the entire Premier League, the government, the media and all other football clubs and their fans are our enemies. We have enemies aplenty. We keep saying we need to unite; to stick together in adversity….then we clobber our own managers accent? Seriously?

Seriously, give over man. If you must, criticise the mans words and deeds, go after his record, his methods and his personnel, but leave his accent and appearance alone. Both are authentic and show the man’s scars; his origins, history, work and loyalty to Newcastle. We should respect that at least. And we should stop criticising working men’s accents. It’s not fair.

​Dear Mr Driscoll,

You will appreciate that many of us voted you into your current post of Regional Mayor of the North of Tyne Combined Authority and looked forward to seeing the Authority under your leadership succeed in a role that could coordinate a positive promotion of the region in the UK, Europe and the world. 

Your campaign emphasised change and improvement in ethical, environmental, and economic policies that would bring fairness and prosperity. 

It is our view that due to your work in attempting to bring investment and jobs to the region you should be integral in supporting the inward investment plans of the consortium that has been put together recently to purchase Newcastle United Football Club and it is our understanding that one group within the consortium The Reuben Brothers plan (according to Private Eye) a £200m plus development in the Pilgrim Street and surrounding South-Central area of Newcastle city centre. 

This Development could prove to be the first of many investments in the area as the consortium that make up the potential new owners would look to develop relationships with the “movers and shakers” in the region; attracting further development and showcasing the north east as an ambitious region with so much more to offer.

The same article in Private Eye avers that the Northumberland and Newcastle Society have opposed the Pilgrim Street development; feeling that it isn’t in keeping with the Georgian splendour of Newcastle’s architecture... surely you could help here? 

As the Reubens are well known supporters of the Tory Party and Boris Johnson, you could provide some political balance...? As a Mayor with a demonstrably successful record in attracting hundreds of jobs you and your Authority should be at the table providing a regional perspective on the opportunities inherent in inward investment.

Obviously these opportunities exist whether or not Newcastle United are part of the Consortium's plan, but if that is what it takes to bring yet more jobs, firms, fairness and prosperity to this region it seems obvious that you and your fellow cabinet members would advocate for successful and engaged owners of a premier league football club on the doorstep.

To date we are aware that only one member of the North of Tyne Combined Authority Cabinet, in their capacity as Chief Executive of Newcastle City Council publicly voiced support for the takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, PIF, and the intended investment opportunities that they and their fellow consortium members were offering the region as part of their plans. 

With a petition signed by over 110,000 people backing the proposed takeover by the PIF/PCP/Reubens consortium there is a perception building that some in the North of Tyne Combined Authority’s Cabinet are not interested in three pillars that support the North East economy; long term development, job creation and retention and a successful Premier League football club on Tyneside!

We look forward to an open and positive response from yourself and your fellow Cabinet Members showing a united and positive front from the Authority that we can share with our 22,000+ twitter followers, the regular 6,000+ audience whom we interact with weekly on YouTube, our local press and media and the dozens of other Newcastle United Supporters Groups and influencers who continue to enthusiastically await a successful takeover of the football club and support the Saudi Sovereign Wealth fund and their highly ambitious consortium partners in bringing dreams of long term on field and off field success to Tyneside and the wider region.


Yours in anticipation

NUFC FANS UTD 

www.nufcfansutd.com

​The 2020/21 season kicks off on 12 September but supporters will be forced to wait a little bit longer before they can return to stadiums and when they do, it will be at a reduced capacity.

With both the Government and the Premier League pencilling in the weekend of 3rd October as the earliest date for fans to be admitted to stadia in England the key concerns for clubs and supporters now turns to social distancing, the guidelines that need to be introduced and how they can ensure fans follow the guidelines before, during and after games.

Newcastle United is now planning for the proposed re-introduction albeit in limited numbers and are planning to meet with supporter group representatives and members of the Fans Forum to share and discuss their proposals and seek consensus.

The views of supporters are integral to the ongoing and very relevant planning that is taking place to ensure that safety is being addressed, that available seating allocated in a fair and equitable manner and that plans and proposals are adaptable to the ever changing situation that this pandemic presents.

We will have a presence in the video-conference that takes place on Tuesday 8th September where we will take forward any supporters thoughts and concerns. Please email them to nufcfansutd AT gmail.com or use our twitter account @NUFCFansUtd either on our timeline or by DM.

Check out the Lads talking about it below.

To:

H.E. Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan (Governor);
AND the Board of The Public Investment Fund;
PCP Capital Partners;
Reuben Brothers,

 
Your Royal Highness, Your Excellencies, Sirs and Madame,

There is an old saying that things happen for a reason and that was certainly how we felt when the news broke back in January that, as governors of the Sovereign Wealth Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia you were interested in purchasing our football club, Newcastle United.

For years our club has languished in the doldrums; starved of success despite an appetite for football second to none. Now we could start to dream again. Owners that matched our desire for success were coming and those dreams might just turn into reality!

We hold the vision of a partnership between supporters and owners that will bring with it the first real hope and prospect in many years of rejuvenating one of the most storied clubs in England. With The Public Investment Fund's wealth and experience in business matched by the supporter’s passion and devotion to their club we might finally be in possession of the winning ticket.

PIF is the engine behind economic diversity in the KSA. It also develops high focus strategic sectors by growing and maximizing the impact of the fund’s investments, making it the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. Moreover, we know that the program establishes strong economic partnerships that help deepen the KSA’s impact and role both regionally and globally.

As supporters we were delighted to hear that the Club’s Football Academy and youth development would be put centre stage for investment. We believe that such an investment provides far more than football development. It gives young players the opportunity for an education and pastoral care that supports them not only physically but also mentally and emotionally.

These aspects are often overlooked in many areas of the game of professional football and are aptitudes that young people need to help them be successful in whatever career path they choose. The age of talent drain from the region with something like this in place would finally be over. Planned investment in community relations and the Foundation shows how PIF understood the importance of growing the Club alongside and in partnership with the local community.

The city and surrounding communities have a long and famous history. Indeed one of Newcastle United’s unique synergies is that of a club that sits at the very heart of the city, a fan base that turns up in numbers week in week out to support the team and a city, wider region and community that the club very much represents. It is often said that when Newcastle United win on Saturday, productivity rises in the region by 30% the next week. Whilst this may be anecdotal it is very hard to disagree.

Investment in the City and the region (by both PIF and from the multiplier effect) is badly needed and just as importantly would be a welcome interface.

The feeling of many in the North East is that we are overlooked with regard to investment in the UK therefore the mooted levels of investment that a PIF backed takeover of Newcastle United would generate would be viewed as a massive opportunity missed if the bid doesn't go ahead.

In many ways this is about renewed hope not just for the football club, but the city and the region as a whole.By declaring an interest in Newcastle United you have demonstrated to fans that PIF is a forward thinking and genuine long-term investor. What PIF and their partners had in mind for regional investment, coupled with a developing Saudi Arabia prepared to partner with and share economic and cultural growth alongside the City of Newcastle upon Tyne, would be spectacular for the region and mutually beneficial to us all in many diverse and exciting ways.

It is clear that PIF has thought its bid through very carefully and has assembled a leadership team that Newcastle fans can certainly believe in. Leadership has been sadly lacking at Newcastle United for many years. The Club is perceived like a ghost ship with a skeleton crew.

We are crying out for a leadership team that cares, will nurture the club and one which values the club in the same way that we, as fans, do. We remain convinced that the team assembled, including PCP Capital Partners and the Reuben brothers would do this and very much more with the backing and expertise of PIF.

As you will no doubt be aware, the Newcastle fans and the local community are deeply concerned about how the English Premier League conducted its Owners’ and Directors’ Test in regard to your bid and we have written to them demanding answers.

A petition calling for an investigation into the English Premier League has already exceeded 92,000 signatures at the time of writing this letter to you. Numerous Members of Parliament have also written to the League to seek answers for their prolonged and highly unsatisfactory process as a result of thousands of their constituents writing to them.

Yes; things happen for a reason and we hope that as a governor of the Sovereign Wealth Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and potential investors in Newcastle United FC you can once again be energised by the opportunities of being part of something special.

We urge you, with every fibre we can muster, to consider bringing back your bid, and together we can make our hopes and dreams a reality for everyone who wishes to be part of this truly momentous opportunity.

Yours faithfully,

A coalition of Newcastle United Supporters Groups

The North East of England has recently missed out on potentially hundreds of millions of
pounds of investment from a consortium of investors who have recently tried to buy
Newcastle United.

This region has long been starved of the kind of investment in infrastructure and housing
that other parts of the United Kingdom have benefited from. The collapse of the purchase of
Newcastle United has potentially robbed the North East of a huge opportunity.

PCP, PIF and the Reuben Brothers have publicly commented on large scale plans for
investment in the whole region, not just the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.

The supporters of Newcastle United have been ignored by the Premier League. The people
of the North East have been ignored by the Premier League. The Premier League may have
sound reasons for drawing out the takeover process for more than four months and the
Premier League may have done everything they needed to do to protect their business and
Newcastle United.

However, there must be transparency after the process has completed. Answers must be
provided about decisions which affect millions of people in our region.

So far, the silence from the Premier League suggests they believe the people of the North
East don't matter and that we don't deserve answers. The Trust has over 14,000 paying
members across the North East and we are calling on local politicians to come together to
request that the Premier League provide answers to supporters about this process.

​This is not about Newcastle United or even just the Tyneside region. The economy of the
whole North East would have benefited from this investment.

The aim is to better understand a process that has denied this region of investment when it
needs it most.

The people of this region shouldn't be kept in the dark about decisions that affect them the
most.
​
Web: www.nufctrust.co.uk Email: board@nufctrust.co.uk Twitter: @nufctrust
Registered office: Draper’s Cottage, Slaley, Northumberland, NE47 0AA

The intention of this feed - and website was always to share a lot of supporter generated content and opinion. Below is a letter composed by @timmay2606 to the Premier League re the #NUFCTakeover

Dear Jason,

I have read, bought and valued the New Statesman all of my adult life. I remember Duncan Campbell's reports, the combination of wit and fact, the proper journalism that would inspire BBC and "World in Action" documentaries. How it was part of an agenda that wanted to change the world for the better; and sometimes succeeded.

Maybe the world is beyond changing and now all media (yourselves included) is content with cementing its own identity into a recurring revenue stream on the matrix of opinion that doesn't seek to enlighten, just to damn their opponent.

Unfortunately, your recent article about Newcastle United and the Saudi takeover was so devoid of any merit, nuance and any semblance of fairness that my only response can be that I no longer trust anything you write in your periodical - unless I can validate it with my own experience. I don't buy a subscription for that.

You tolerated a terrible, insulting and lazy article about NUFC Fans. You missed how the KSA and the whole ME situation could be changed by leisure, engagement and diversification. How maybe the State Dept. would rather Saudi money was spent on "overpaid footballers" rather than religious-political causes. How Qatar, Iran, Israel and the entire world may argue about everything, except football. You didn't point out that one former energy producing economy (coals to Newcastle!) is being potentially influenced by a soon-to-be former energy producer (when oil runs out); how a leisure economy is one of the few places the NE of England can still have any influence. How the fight for that influence between active football fans and owners and sponsors has been going on for decades with Virgin, Brown Ale and Wonga on our shirts, Sports Direct on our ground, and money going everywhere except where it's needed.
I'm not a specialist; this stuff is general reading and the work we've done setting up one of the most active and successful football supporters foodbanks in the UK and working with fans since 2007 informs my experience.

So, I conclude that if you misinform and insult when I know something about the subject, your journalism must be unreliable when I don't know the subject. Accordingly, I hope you change, improve and become what you should. 

I'll watch from a distance but there's no way I'll contribute to a periodical that insults me, my mother and our great people. 

The Hell with you,

Bill Corcoran

Fans Supporting Foodbanks go cross-country this weekend in solidarity mission to deliver life-saving PPE to the nation’s key workers
​
Five thousand life-saving visors made by Merseyside PPE Hub volunteers for doctors, nurses, paramedics, ambulance workers and care workers will be delivered by Liverpool-based Fans Supporting Foodbanks to its sister organisations from Newcastle, Huddersfield, Leeds, Manchester and London for distribution across the country this weekend.

In addition to continuing its core work of collecting food donations for North Liverpool foodbanks and setting up a food supply hub to serve the whole of Liverpool during the Covid-19 crisis, over the last 5 weeks Fans Supporting Foodbanks has also been busy working in collaboration with local businesses and educators as part of the voluntary Merseyside PPE Hub partnership.

Merseyside PPE Hub’s production operation is spearheaded by Lydiate Learning Trust (LLT), working out of Studio@Deyes at Wavertree Technology Park in Liverpool and comprising staff from specialist engineering college Studio@Deyes, Deyes High School and Childwall Sport and Science Academy.

The Merseyside PPE Hub partnership produces and distribute life-saving Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for health and social care workers on the front line of the fight against Covid-19. Since the crisis began, the partnership has produced and distributed more than 25,000 visors, hundreds of scrubs and more than 3000 face masks around the region.

Fans Supporting Foodbanks works closely with Lydiate Learning Trust and other Merseyside PPE Hub partners to support with fundraising, logistics and distribution requirements.

Urgent requests for face visors for key workers around the country reached Fans Supporting Foodbanks this week and now the organisation is responding to that call with a cross-country solidarity mission this weekend to deliver five thousand visors produced by the Merseyside PPE Hub to Fans Supporting Foodbanks sister organisations in areas where visors are required.

The local arm of the Fans Supporting Foodbanks network in Newcastle, Huddersfield, Leeds, Manchester and London respectively will on Saturday 9 May take delivery of a large batch of visors and ensure they reach the frontline workers who desperately need them in the coming days.

Fans Supporting Foodbanks co-founder Ian Byrne says: “We are delighted once again to work with our comrades from Fans Supporting Foodbanks across the country, but this time supplying PPE to frontline workers created in solidarity from across Liverpool.

 “Many thanks to LLT-PPE for pulling together the magnificent donation of 5000 visors to go to workers across the region who scandalously are being left short of PPE when working to protect our communities. This really is a true example of solidarity not charity between communities.”

Fans Supporting Foodbanks co-founder Dave Kelly says: “Fans Supporting Foodbanks have always promoted harmony and aimed to be inclusive, not exclusive. Our ethos is to adopt a collaborative approach with other fan groups and in life generally. So, when fan groups from various regions asked us how they could order PPE from our Merseyside PPE Hub partnership, it became clear that the demand for PPE is a national one and we felt it our duty to respond.

“I can’t think of a better example of working-class solidarity than our fan groups and working-class communities coming together in this way to keep the nation’s workers safe. This weekend’s solidarity mission by the Fans Supporting Foodbanks network to deliver and distribute vital PPE across the country is exactly what fan activism is all about.”

John Parry of Lydiate Learning Trust (LLT) says: “At the beginning of April I was approached by colleagues in the Lydiate Learning Trust to make some PPE visors in response to the shortages in hospitals and other settings being widely reported. At first we made 100 visors and posted photos of these on social media. We were overwhelmed by the response and that day LLT-PPE was born.

“We raised £10,000 in 4 weeks and came together with Fans Supporting Foodbanks to develop the Merseyside PPE Hub partnership. This developed quickly and also includes partners such as Dave Connor from Optimum group, seventeen schools, small businesses including That 3D and local volunteers with their own 3D Printers and laser cutters. With the funding we raise we can supply our affiliates with the materials they need to manufacture PPE visors. Merseyside PPE Hub distributes these to key workers in hospitals, care homes, paramedics and elsewhere as needed.

“This project has brought together people from all walks of life that may have never crossed paths before and injected energy into a community who want to help make and deliver PPE. This city always pulls together in a time of need and shows that unity is strength.”

Also a key partner in the Merseyside PPE Hub is Optimum Group, which runs franchises of Costa Coffee and Kaspa’s branches in Merseyside and is currently working around the clock to produce vital PPE for frontline NHS staff and other key workers. Samantha Taylor, a teacher of Textiles/MA Fashion Design and co-founder of Scrub Hub Liverpool is also on board, producing scrubs for healthcare workers across Merseyside during the crisis.

More details on the work of the Merseyside PPE Hub partnership can be found here: http://www.merseysideppehub.co.uk/. Anyone who would like to donate towards the work of the Merseyside PPE Hub partnership can do so via either of these two online donation pages: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/dave-kelly-5 https://www.paypal.com/paypalme2/lltppe