MANCHESTER UNITED LEGEND Gary Neville has announced that he will provide free hotel beds for NHS workers in two of the hotels he part-owns with ex-old Trafford colleague Ryan Giggs, as the battle to contain the spread of coronavirus continues.
All professional football in England has been suspended indefinitely due to the Covid-19 outbreak, with 2,626 cases confirmed in the United Kingdom to date and 104 confirmed deaths.
Prime minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that all schools in the country are to close from Friday, and further measures are expected to be put in place in coming the days.
A number of Premier League clubs have been attempting to aid a collective effort to combat the ongoing crisis, including Chelsea, whose billionaire owner Roman Abramovich has hit headlines for offering to put up medical workers at the Millennium Hotel at Stamford Bridge free of charge.
A message from our co-owner Gary Neville. @GNev2 @GG_Hospitality pic.twitter.com/uy2rEfweho
— Hotel Football (@hotelfootballuk) March 18, 2020
Neville has followed suit by putting his own plans in place to help NHS staff at Hotel Football, near Old Trafford, and The Stock Exchange in central Manchester. Both hotels will close to the public and will instead be made available to NHS workers, while no hotel staff will be made redundant or asked to take unpaid leave.
“Over the last week we have been in consultation with the health services in the Greater Manchester area, in particular, the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust,” Neville said in a social media post on Wednesday afternoon.
“Our 176 beds will be occupied by National Health Service workers and medical professionals from Friday onwards.
“It’s at this time that I think the whole of our industry needs to show solidarity, not just for our staff in these uncertain times but obviously for those who need the accommodation most in the coming months.
“It’s something we’re delighted to have come into agreement with. It will operate free of charge and our staff will operate the hotels as normal.
“The health workers will be able to stay there without any cost whatsoever in these next few months when they need isolation away from family members who may be affected by what’s going on.
“Stay safe and we wish everybody all the best.”
