World championships of gay and inclus. rugby in Manchester this weekend

The Gotham Knights Rugby Football Club was founded in 2001. Through our 10 year history we have proudly fielded teams of diverse athletes of all skill levels and experience dedicated to competitiveness, rugby excellence, fitness, fun, and refuting negative stereotypes of the Gay/Bi-sexual male athletic community. While our membership is not Gay/Bisexual exclusive, all active members fully support their Gotham Rugby brothers and support the Gotham Mission Statement.

The 2012 Bingham Cup will take place in Manchester, UK, between 1st and 3rd June 2012.

The world championships of gay and inclusive rugby come toManchester this weekend, and the city's own Village Spartans hope to do well in the biggest event of its kind so far.

They'll be tackling sides such as the New York Gotham Knights, the current holders of the championship's trophy, the Bingham Cup, which is named after the gay rugby player Mark Bingham who died on 9/11 inUnited flight 93, the hijacked plane which crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back.

More than 30 clubs from 15 countries are involved in the event, with 1500 players and loyal fans already booked in. Their main cities of origin – Amsterdam, Dublin, Ottawa,Stockholm, Sydney and Washington – have the extra advantage of coinciding with target markets for Manchester tourism industry.

This is worth an estimated £5.8 billion a year now, a fact which might startle those who still think in terms of a grimy city of business and trade which didn't care overmuch what visitors thought about it. Manchester has had its eye on the Bingham Cup for some while, bidding to host it back in July 2010 and getting persuasive supporters within the game on board.

These include former British Lions and Wales captain Gareth Thomaswho will host the event's gala dinner, and Ben Cohen, the former England rugby World Champion player, who has been a staunch advocate for gay and inclusive teams within the sport. On the eve of the tournament, Cohen says:

I'm passionate that anyone, regardless of their background, should be able to play rugby.  Events such as this tournament show how rugby has become more inclusive and it also helps break down barriers and bring more people into the sport.

Andrew Stokes, chief executive of Marketing Manchester, says:

Manchester has one of the largest gay communities in the UK and is a true sporting city in every sense of the word.

We recognise the importance of hosting international tournaments and have an impressive track record of delivering first class sporting events. As such, we are an ideal host city for the Bingham Cup and look forward welcoming the teams to our city.

The tournament is based at Broughton Park RUFC from tomorrow, Friday 1 June, until Sunday. All details of fixtures are here and the event is on twitter.com/manchester2012

The Bingham Cup is the world championship of gay and inclusive rugby teams and is one of the largest men’s 15-aside rugby union tournament in the sporting calendar outside of the IRB Rugby World Cup. Manchester 2012 will be the sixth Bingham Cup and is officially sponsored by the Rugby Football Union.

Manchester 2012 will be three days celebrating the very best of rugby.