Premier League giants Manchester City have decided to hand over their Etihad Stadium to the National Health Service (NHS) in order to help them combat the ongoing crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a report on IANS, which was accessed via Sky Sports, City have made available their home stadium’s executive boxes and conference rooms for the NHS authorities to train doctors and nurses during the crisis.
Earlier the Blues of Manchester had joined hands with their city rivals, Manchester United, to donate 100,000 pounds to provide support to the food bank in and around the city amid the pandemic.
Both clubs said in a joint statement that it will donate 50,000 pounds each to the Trussell Trust a support network of more than 1,200 food banks.
“We are proud of the role our supporters play in helping local food banks and recognise the increased strain likely to be placed on these charities by the impact of coronavirus. At a time of challenge for our community, we are pleased to come together with our fans to help vulnerable members of society in a City United,” both the clubs said in a joint statement.
The deadly COVID-19, which has killed more than 1,000 people and affected over 17,000 people in the United Kingdom, has forced the leagues and tournaments of all the divisions there, including the Premier League, into a standstill like most of Europe.
Meanwhile, the Football Association (FA), last week extended the suspension of all forms of professional games till April 30. But with Prime Minister Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing a three-week lockdown earlier this week, the return of football in the first week of May remains highly unlikely.