At the heart of England’s success at UEFA Euro 2024 has been the love of football which comes from one of the country’s greatest cities, Manchester.  

With no fewer than four of England’s players coming from Greater Manchester, the area is once again showing how it is a hub for sport within the UK. 

Year after year, young people are kickstarting and progressing their careers within the sports industry from UCFB’s Manchester Campus, offering undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses in areas such as sports media, sports business, sports coaching and sports finance. 

Here, we take a look at some of the England players from Manchester, home to the world's two biggest football teams, to share UCFB's vibrant sport and student life.

Phil Foden: 

Originally from Stockport, Greater Manchester, Foden has stayed close to home, spending his entire footballing career at the Etihad Stadium, home to boyhood club Manchester City. 

Having won six Premier League titles in seven years, Foden is thriving in Greater Manchester, and shows so sign of slowing down.

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Kobbie Mainoo:

On the other side of Manchester, 19-year-old Kobbie Mainoo, who also hails from Stockport, started his career at Cheadle and Gatley Junior Football Club before joining Manchester United’s academy at nine years of old. 

Since making his first team debut in 2022, Mainoo has become a firm favourite at Old Trafford, and is now making himself a favourite in the England camp as well. 
 

Click here to learn more about the UCFB Premier Event initiative, which had numerous sports industry-focused insight events held at Old Trafford Football Stadium. 

Cole Palmer: 

The 2023-24 Premier League Young Player of the Year, with more goal involvements than any other player, comes from a mere five miles from Stockport, in Wythenshawe, having started his career at Manchester City before moving to London to play for Chelsea F.C. 

Kieran Trippier: 

Coming from the north of Greater Manchester, in Bury, Trippier also started his career at Manchester City and played for several other northern clubs in Barnsley and Burnley, before venturing further afield, plying his trade for Tottenham Hotspur, Atletico de Madrid Newcastle United. 

After shining as one of England’s star players at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he has been a regular in Gareth Southgate’s team ever since.  

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Greater Manchester is also home to England’s assistant manager Steve Holland, who like Foden and Mainoo, comes from Stockport, managing nearby club Crewe Alexandra early in his coaching career.  

Also known as a hub for multiple sports, Manchester has clubs in the rugby union, rugby league, ice hockey, cricket and many more, with a growing number of career paths in each competitive sports field.  

To find out more about the many undergraduate and postgraduate degree course offerings available at UCFB Manchester, click here. 

You can also click here to view a UCFB prospectus and kick off your career in the football and wider sports industry.