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Represent Leeds in a free cross-city FIFA battle launching later this month
FIFA fans in Leeds have the opportunity to represent their city and win up to £500 and 6 months free Future Fibre from TalkTalk, by taking part in a free cross-city virtual tournament, The Future Fibre City Clash, against rival cities.
A new cross-city gaming battle is launching in Leeds later this month, giving FIFA fans the chance to play in a FIFA 22 tournament against fellow gamers in rival cities Liverpool, Birmingham, and Manchester.
The Future Fibre City Clash will see gamers across the four cities go head-to-head from the comfort of their own homes for a chance to win a £500 cash prize and six months free Future Fibre broadband, plus an Amazon eero, all courtesy of TalkTalk.
The top two players from each city who make it through to the qualifying stages will each take home a £100 cash prize too.
Registrations for The Future Fibre City Clash are open until 28 January, with the free tournament set to kick off on 29 January.
After the qualifying stages, the championship will take place on 12 and 13 February.
FIFA 22. Credit: EA Sports
The virtual tournament will be hosted on Battlefy, the leading online esports tournament platform.
Anyone can enter and players can take part in as many games as they like between 29 January and 6 February.
Players will need to enter their Leeds postcode to register their details, and have access to a PlayStation 4 or Xbox.
The Future Fibre City Clash will find the top FIFA gaming city but will also discover if Leeds has the best gaming skills, showcasing which city has the most goals and the most wins throughout the competition.
Ben Cooper, head of marketing – FTTP at TalkTalk, said: "We’re so excited to launch The Future Fibre City Clash as we make fast, affordable, full fibre broadband more widely available in Leeds.
Credit: Supplied
"Our Future Fibre packages use the UK’s latest full fibre technology and next generation home Wi-Fi from Amazon eero, meaning they can handle multiple devices at once with ease and without lag or buffering – making it the perfect broadband package for gamers.
"We look forward to seeing gamers represent their city throughout the virtual FIFA tournament and would encourage anyone to join in and have a go at winning some points for their city."
The Future Fibre City Clash follows the launch of TalkTalk’s Future Fibre packages, with top average download speeds of 900Mb/s in Leeds.
The packages combine the benefits of Wi-Fi 6 technology and 100% full fibre connection, making them up to 24 times faster and up to five times more reliable than standard broadband.
Future Fibre packages have enough bandwidth to handle 75+ connected devices at once.
TalkTalk is also the only major UK provider to include Amazon's award-winning eero 6 series routers as standard with all its fibre packages.
Andy Burnham has said that he wants to scrap the 'unfair' ban on fans getting to drink alcohol in football stands.
It's a ban that's been in place in the top five tiers of men's football since 1985, when fears over violence and hooliganism were at their height, but now the Prime Minister has raised the question of whether drinking in football stands - or 'drinking in sight / view of the pitch', as it's known formally - is actually unjust, due to the fact that same rules don't apply to fans of other sports.
"I don't think it's fair for football fans to be singled out in that way," Andy Burnham has declared this week, grabbing headlines in the process.
He continued: "I think that legislation dates to an era where football was very different, and I do believe there is a case to remove that discrimination.
"I'm not going to back away from what's been a long-held view of mine. I don't see how it can be fair that some supporters of one sport can be treated differently."
The Prime Minister's comments have been met with mixed response.
Andy Burnham wants to scrap the 'unfair' ban on drinking alcohol in football stands / Credit: James Kirkup | Julia Nastogadka (via Unsplash)
The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), for example, has very much welcomed the idea, saying that it 'totally agrees' the legislation is 'outdated' and 'deserves to be reviewed'.
Tom Greatrex, chair of the FSA, said in a statement: "The FSA has always argued that it’s unfair to criminalise football fans for having a pint while watching the match - especially since you can sit in the same seat drinking alcohol whilst watching an Oasis gig or rugby league."
However, on the flip side, the UK Football Policing Unit said it would be 'incredibly rash' to change the rules without proper consultation.
"Other sports simply don't see the violence and criminal behaviour from their supporters that football does, albeit a minority, with alcohol often playing a significant part in violent and disorderly behaviour," it said in a statement on the matter.
The Prime Minister did state in his initial proposition though that 'there are different ways it could be done', hinting that it could be done 'on a trial basis' perhaps.
The English Football League (EFL) added that it would be 'receptive to discussions around reviewing current legislation and permitting alcoholic drinks within view of the pitch'.
No formal details on a review have been confirmed as of yet, so fans are encouraged to stay tuned for updates in due course.
Featured Image - Pexels
Sport
Kevin Sinfield will return to Leeds for his final 7 in 7 challenge in honour of Rob Burrow
Clementine Hall
Leeds legend Kevin Sinfield is set to take on his seventh and final 7 in 7 challenge this month.
The former Leeds Rhinos captain will begin 7 in 7: The Grand Finale next Sunday 27 September.
Wondering what on earth that is? Allow us to fill you in.
Sinfield will be running an ultra-marathon every day for seven days, and this time it's across the north of England including a special stop off right here in Leeds.
Not only that, but the challenge will bring Sinfield back to some of the places that have played a huge part in his rugby league career.
The route will visit all 12 English Betfred Super League grounds, starting at Hull KR before travelling through Yorkshire and eventually crossing the Pennines towards Manchester where Sinfield is from.
Here in Leeds, we can expect Sinfield to arrive at Headingley Stadium on Wednesday 30 September at 11:14am, before leaving towards Pudsey Civic Hall at 11:40am.
The challenge will then finish at Old Trafford on Saturday 3 October, where Sinfield will arrive ahead of the Super League Grand Final.
Since the first annual challenge back in 2020, Kevin Sinfield and his team have raised over £11 million for the MND community with six charities set to benefit once again from this years fundraising.
It's an amazing challenge for an amazing cause, and you can donate and find out more about the challenge here.
Good luck Kevin and the team, we know you'll smash it.
The Hoot -
24th January 2022 
