Worker bee symbol to feature on Man Utd and Man City shirts in friendly match

Manchester City and Manchester United will wear shirts featuring their city’s ‘worker bee’ symbol when they meet in the United States later this month.

The two clubs are due to meet in a friendly in the pre-season International Champions Cup in Houston on July 20.

The gesture commemorates the Manchester terrorist attack in May, after which both clubs came together to pledge £1million to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund. The fund was set up to help the families of the 22 people who died in the atrocity and the 64 who were injured.

The shirts will also be auctioned off for the fund after the match.

The worker bee symbolises the industrial heritage of Manchester and was adopted as the city’s coat of arms in 1842.

City chief executive Ferran Soriano said: “Manchester continues to show great strength and sense of community since May’s devastating attack and the thoughts of everyone at Manchester City remain with those affected.”

United’s executive chairman Ed Woodward said: “The city of Manchester has shown great strength and unity since the tragic terror attack in May, showing the country and the world how special this city really is.

“Having the worker bee on our shirts once again shows the community spirit of our city and football club and it is only natural that we continue to help all of those affected, through this fundraising and awareness, with millions of fans across the world watching this game.”