Life Leisure has reached a major financial milestone, operating Stockport Council’s active wellbeing services without revenue support from the local authority.

The operator finished the year £625,000 ahead of budget and £830,000 ahead of the previous year, generating a £60,000 operational surplus.

This means the net cost of leisure provision to Stockport Council has fallen by £2.3 million since the Stockport Active Community Interest Company was established.

The result follows a restructuring of the relationship between Life Leisure and the council, with the operator now acting directly as its agent – a move which has enabled VAT rebates and strengthened integration between leisure and wider council services.

Income also increased by around 9 per cent year-on-year, helped by growth in swimming lessons, income at Stockport Sports Village, the addition of a padel court at Grand Central and rising membership following a three-year refurbishment programme, with membership ending the financial year at 16,800.

Overall operating costs remained flat, in spite of staffing costs increasing by 10 per cent as the operator moves towards becoming a Real Living Wage employer.

Life Leisure says its services generated more than £22 million in social value during 2025/26, based on 92,920 individual participants meeting national physical activity thresholds across almost two million visits.

The organisation is also scaling its Grow Academy in line with Stockport Council’s wider People Plan, creating structured career development pathways intended to build a workforce capable of operating across commercial leisure, community prevention and clinical healthcare intervention.

The move points to a broader ambition for the organisation: positioning staff not simply as facility operators, but as part of Stockport’s wider preventative health workforce.

CEO John Oxley said the organisation exists to serve “the whole of Stockport, not just those who walk through the doors of our Hubs”, with a particular focus on people who are least active and furthest from good health.

“We’ve come a long way,” he said, “growth in every aspect of our business, every year for the last four years; meeting the needs of those already motivated to take care of their own health while working on initiatives that encourage those traditionally under-served through socially-connected activity that’s non-judgmental and enables more people to live well and feel better.”

HCM Summit 2026

John Oxley is part of the all-keynote line-up for this year’s HCM Summit, taking place in Westminster, London on 22 October.

Other speakers are SATS CEO Sondre Gravir; Nuffield Health CEO Alex Perry; Future Practice co-founder Oli Patrick; Brain and Fitness CEO Anna Milani; Tribute Brands CEO Jonathan Fisher; Jims CEO PJ Nuitten; Fitness First UK MD Marc Diaper; GB sprinter, Gladiator and You+ ambassador Harry Aikines-Aryeetey; Everyone Active MD Duncan Jefford and GP and TV doctor Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi.

You can book your place here.

**Background briefing – Life Leisure**

Life Leisure’s move to zero revenue support has been underpinned by a cross-subsidisation model which uses income from commercially successful facilities and services to fund preventative health and community interventions.

Higher-spec gym and studio provision in stronger trading locations helps support programmes including hospital-based activity, SEND sessions and Greater Manchester’s largest exercise referral scheme.

Life Leisure says the exercise referral programme costs less than £200 per participant to deliver while generating an estimated £22,000 in social value for each person taking part.

That emphasis on social return has led the operator to broaden the way it measures performance. Alongside QALYs and data from Moving Communities, it is using Wellby methodology, which assesses changes in self-reported life satisfaction alongside preventative health cost reductions for the health service.

Expanding access for populations furthest from good health has been a priority. The Stockport Active Scheme was launched to reduce barriers to activity for more than 800 underserved residents.

In June, Life Leisure opened the Move Well Studio at Avondale – the first publicly accessible facility of its kind in Greater Manchester – for people with acute mobility challenges, neurological conditions and age-related physical decline.

Community campaigns are being used to extend Life Leisure’s reach beyond its facilities. Its Move Stockport campaign, delivered with the NHS, schools and local businesses, encouraged residents to complete 30 minutes of activity a day and resulted in an 11 per cent increase in recorded exercise to 8.25 million minutes – an additional 14,000 hours of movement across the borough compared with the previous year.

Digital systems are increasingly being deployed to improve engagement and retention. Monthly active users of the Life Leisure app increased by 31.5 per cent year-on-year to 19,052, while the wider web ecosystem recorded 168,000 active users and 2.3 million digital interactions.

An automated 60-day CRM onboarding journey increased member onboarding completion rates from 13 per cent to 32 per cent and – according to the operator – extended average membership tenure by two months.

Life Leisure has also introduced Stockport Sam, an AI-powered virtual assistant designed to handle frontline customer service queries and sales navigation.

A new leisure management system is being prepared, with the aim of delivering greater customer personalisation, simplifying booking pathways and generating deeper operational insight.

Next-stage projects include the integrated Community Wellbeing Hub at Marple and expansion of the PARiS exercise referral programme.

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland warms up prior to the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Bournemouth in Manchester, England, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Erling Haaland’s future at Manchester City may be secure for now, but one former City midfielder believes the Norwegian’s long-term stay at the Etihad should not be taken for granted.Haaland has committed himself to the club on a contract running until 2034 and remains the centrepiece of City’s attack. Yet with the club entering a new era and facing questions over whether it can maintain the dominance of recent seasons, Gareth Barry believes the next couple of years could be decisive in determining whether the prolific striker eventually looks for a new challenge

Why Haaland could eventually look elsewhere

Haaland joined City in 2022 and has already established himself as one of the most prolific goalscorers in the club’s history.The 26-year-old has scored 162 goals in 200 appearances across all competitions for City, while playing a major role in a period that included a historic Treble in 2022-23. His long-term contract, signed in 2024, was designed to keep one of football’s most coveted strikers at the Etihad well into the next decade.But Barry does not believe the length of that agreement necessarily means Haaland will see it through.Speaking exclusively to GOAL, the former England international said: “Erling Haaland leaving Man City one day is inevitable.”Barry stressed that Haaland has no reason to force an exit while City remain competitive, and expects the striker to avoid the kind of public agitation that has accompanied some high-profile transfers.“As much as Haaland’s association with City is really big, and that will keep him there for now, he won’t be rocking the boat like you see a lot of other players doing,” Barry said.

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Bournemouth in Manchester, England, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

The former City player believes the situation could change if the club’s trophy haul begins to decline.“I think if City’s dominance does wane a little bit and the trophies aren’t coming in, it will fuel the speculation,” he explained. “It is natural sometimes to want a new challenge, and I’m sure Haaland will be no different.”Barry’s prediction is therefore less about Haaland wanting out immediately and more about what happens around him.“It’s not just going to happen overnight. Haaland will think about his career, which is short,” he said. “But if the trophies aren’t coming in, it will just fuel speculation.”And given Haaland’s standing in the game, Barry expects the striker to have no shortage of options if he eventually decides the time is right.“He will have offers from all over the world because he’s the best striker in the world, so it’s just natural. It’s one you can see happening in the future.”

The next two years could be crucial

For Barry, the most important period may not be the end of Haaland’s current contract but the next two seasons.He believes the striker’s eventual decision will be heavily influenced by how competitive City remain domestically and in Europe.“A lot will depend on how competitive City are in Europe and the Premier League in the next year or two, I should imagine,” Barry said.That is particularly significant given the changes taking place around Haaland.Pep Guardiola has departed after his long spell in charge, while City are now entering a new era under Enzo Maresca. At the same time, Rodri has left, removing one of the most influential players from the team’s midfield.Those developments have led Barry to question whether City can immediately return to the top of the Premier League.

Barry expects Arsenal to be favourites

City have gone two seasons without winning the Premier League, with Liverpool and then Arsenal restoring themselves to the top of the domestic game.Barry, who helped City win their first Premier League title in 2011-12, believes the latest changes could make a title challenge even more difficult.“Even before selling Rodri, given the turnover of managers at City, it would have been tough to overturn Arsenal from where they are at the moment,” he told GOAL.“I think with Rodri going, they’re even less of a threat now to challenge Arsenal.”Barry expects City to strengthen further and believes new additions could ease the burden on Elliot Anderson and the rest of the midfield, but he does not think that will necessarily be enough to make them favourites.“I’m sure they’re going to sign one or two to improve and maybe replace him, which will help [Elliot] Anderson and the other players in that midfield,” he said. “I’d say they have less of a chance to challenge and maybe win the title now Rodri is gone. I won’t say they’ve given the title away, but it’s making it a lot harder.”His assessment of the title race is emphatic.“I have Arsenal down as huge favourites,” Barry said. “I just feel with City, with what’s going on, the threat is less and less this season and Rodri leaving has just added to that, really. So I can see the other clubs improving.”He also expects Chelsea to progress after missing out on Champions League football, while believing Manchester United and Aston Villa could find European competition challenging.Ultimately, Barry still expects City to finish second but sees a sizeable gap between them and Arsenal.“I still think City will possibly be in second place, but they’ll be less of a threat than they were last year,” he said.

Spain remains a possible destination

Haaland’s future has already been linked with the two biggest clubs in Spain.Real Madrid’s long-standing pursuit of elite attacking talent means the Norwegian continues to be associated with a potential move to the Santiago Bernabéu, while Barcelona are also expected to consider options for the No. 9 position as they plan for life beyond Robert Lewandowski.Those links have existed since Haaland established himself as one of Europe’s premier strikers and could become increasingly prominent if City’s competitive level drops.A move to Madrid was even part of the platform of former Real Madrid presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme, who promised to sign Haaland had he won the club’s election.He did not, leaving the situation unchanged for now.

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland shows his frustration during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Bournemouth in Manchester, Sunday Aug. 23, 2026. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)

There is no indication that Haaland is currently pushing to leave City, and his enormous contract gives the club significant security. But Barry’s argument is that circumstances, rather than the contract itself, could ultimately determine the striker’s next move.If City continue challenging for major honours, there may be little reason for Haaland to look elsewhere. If that dominance begins to disappear, however, the equation changes.For a striker who has already achieved extraordinary numbers at the Etihad and who is entering what should be the prime years of his career, the next two seasons could tell City, and Haaland, whether the future is still in Manchester.

Indian men’s hockey team head coach Craig Fulton admitted his team’s slow start and inability to handle the pressure of a must-win game proved costly as they missed out on a place in the World Cup semifinals here on Monday.

“It was a difficult day today. We didn’t want to end like that. We started poorly, but the second quarter was much better. The third quarter wasn’t good, but then we scored three goals in the last quarter and could have scored the fourth one too from a corner,” Fulton told PTI after the 3-5 loss to Argentina.

“Overall, it was a really strange game. We played at a high level in tournament, but in the big games we have to do better,” he added.

He also said the permutations surrounding India’s qualification for the semifinals had affected the team’s performance.

“There were a lot of permutations going into this game that got the better of us. In the last 10 minutes, we played better hockey. That was a little too late,” he said.

Forward Sukhjeet Singh, who scored twice, blamed defensive lapses for India’s setback in their last opportunity to make the semifinals.

“This was our last opportunity to reach the semifinals, but we committed silly mistakes in defence and they converted them into goals. We gave them easy chances which could have been avoided,” Sukhjeet said.

“We conceded a goal in the first minute, which created pressure. We tried to bounce back, but that early blow was not easy to overcome. We were lazy at the start and we have to work on that.” 
Sukhjeet said India’s penalty corners had been effective throughout the tournament but the defense was sloppy against Argentina.

“Overall, our penalty corner was good throughout the tournament. Our strikers managed to score a few field goals, but we committed mistakes in defence,” he said.

In the 2026 NFL Draft, the Minnesota selected safety Jakobe Thomas. Doing so came from within the context of seeing legendary safety Harrison Smith still undecided about his future – on that topic, how did that situation work out? — so reloading made plenty of sense.

The Vikings’ 3rd-Round selection boasts good size and some swagger within his on-field demeanour. Better yet, the defensive back was coming off a great ride to the College National Championship with the Miami Hurricanes (losing to Curt Cignetti’s and Fernando Mendoza’s Hoosiers). At minimum, Thomas was looking like a depth safety who would be an assassin on specials.

Vikings 3rd-Round Selection Jakobe Thomas Sitting in Better Spot

What’s become tough, though, is that a back injury has lingered. Some may have worried about a Gavin Bartholomew situation; the TE missed all of his debut season due to his own back injury.

Thankfully, that’s not going to happen with Thomas.

Consider the nice update that arrives from Alec Lewis of The Athletic: “Vikings practice just wrapped up a bit ago. Didn’t see S Theo Jackson, so it was a lot of Jacob Thomas and Jakobe Thomas mixing in with the 1s. Jakobe Thomas was back and flying around, his first extensive practice in a couple of weeks.”

All along, there was just a tiny chance Thomas would get cut. What seemed more plausible was possibly needing to shuffle Thomas over to an injury spot to allow him to get healthy. So long as there aren’t any setbacks, the rookie safety should be ready in time for Week 1 since he’s getting a heartier workload.

The Vikings tend to play things cautiously with player health and have certainly followed that approach with the rookie 3rd-Round selection. Seeing this thing drag out would have created some concern that may nevertheless be lingering.

For starters, the rookie has missed valuable development time. He’s therefore finding himself in a spot where it could be hard to catch up in an NFL that’s only accelerating. Things move fast in football, especially for the young lads.

There’s then the depth chart to sort through. At minimum, Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson, and Jay Ward are higher. It appears possible that Jacob Thomas is, too. Tavierre Thomas is a probable roster player due to his special teams prowess, meaning that’s already five players in the mix at safety even if Tavierre Thomas isn’t an insurmountable force.

Consider how things have looked recently for all of the Vikings’ options at safety:

• Josh Metellus — Bounce Back Season?
• Theo Jackson — Bounce Back Season?
• Jay Ward — 4th Year Growth?
• Jamal Adams — Done for Season Due to Injury
• Jakobe Thomas — Working Back from Minor Injury
• Tavierre Thomas — Special Teams Ace
• Jacob Thomas — UDFA Gem
• Kahlef Hailassie — Likely on the PS
• Harrison Smith — Help Us, Chris Tomasson

Jakobe Thomas stands at 6’1″ and roughly 210 pounds. He’ll need to overcome these early injury hiccups to prove capable of getting into the mix on specials and defense in Week 1.

Recent word of his return functions as a nice gust of wind to push the safety toward a Week 1 workload as the Packers travel to the Twin Cities for an early NFC North battle.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

Advertisement

Manchester City star Nico O’Reilly has been crowned the PFA Young Player of the Year

Manchester City star Nico O’Reilly has been crowned the PFA Young Player of the Year, as voted for by his fellow top-flight stars. The 21-year-old enjoyed a stellar breakthrough campaign last season, making 51 appearances in all competitions scoring nine times.

His brilliant displays for City saw him called up to Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the World Cup during the summer, helping the Three Lions take home the bronze medal.

Fellow City star, Rayan Cherki, was also nominated for the award but he was pipped to it by his teammate.

Arsenal’s Max Dowman, Kobbie Mainoo from Manchester United, Junior Kroupi from Bournemouth and Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha were also shortlisted.

Winning the award is testament to the brilliant campaign O’Reilly had under Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium.

Speaking in March last season, Guardiola lavished praise on the England international and said: “He [O’Reilly] started to play when Rodri was injured and impressed a lot.

“Against Newcastle he played holding midfielder alongside Nico, he can play in the pocket, it’s his natural position and every cross he is there.

“In the aerial action offensively he is really strong. Defensively he has to improve. So far, he has been a surprise even for me. His season so far has been extraordinary.”

There will be more to follow. We’ll bring you the very latest updates on this breaking news story.

For the latest news and breaking news visit our Manchester City page. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter @‌ManCityMEN – the MEN’s City Twitter account – for all the latest football news as it happens in real-time.

We’re at facebook.com/ManCityMEN where we’ll bring you breaking stories and images, plus you can chat with United fans around the world. We’re also on Instagram here.

And if you sign up to our free City newsletter here, we’ll send all the latest headlines, reaction and features straight to your inbox, every day.

Shakur Stevenson has offered a somewhat surprising selection for the most underrated fighter of all time.

Stevenson has claimed world honours at featherweight, super-featherweight, lightweight and now super-lightweight, becoming boxing’s third-youngest four-division world champion.

Stevenson is coming off perhaps the best win of his career, having dominated and outclassed Teofimo Lopez to capture the WBO and Ring super lightweight titles. Since then, he has signed a promotional deal with Zuffa Boxing and has been strongly linked with a fight against Devin Haney.

Speaking on the ‘Ball in the Family’ podcast, Stevenson was asked to name the most underrated boxer of all time. His choice was Vasiliy Lomachenko, a fighter who lost to both Lopez and Haney.

“Probably Lomachenko [is the most underrated boxer of all time].

“I think that Lomachenko is underrated because I feel like he fought outside of his weight-class. He fought at 135, where he is really like a 126lber but people discredit him because he lost the big fights against a lot of bigger fighters, so he didn’t really get a chance to fight at his weight-class.

“He should be fighting against guys like [Naoya] Inoue, not Teofimo [Lopez] and Devin [Haney] and s**t, so he is underrated to me.”

Lomachenko is one of the greatest amateur boxers in history, putting together a 396-1 record which led to him entering the paid ranks and becoming a three-division world champion, before the aforementioned losses to Lopez and Haney.

Both Lopez and Haney have since gone on to become welterweight world champions, whilst Lomachenko is planning to announce his comeback imminently, and is reportedly targeting a super-featherweight return against Charly Suarez and then a potential challenge against Emanuel Navarrete.