Tarmac Building Products, in partnership with B&Q, has donated 450 tonnes of sand to one of the country's biggest football fan parks ahead of the greatest sporting event of the summer.
Throughout June and July ITV's Fever Pitch fan park - a Brazilian-style beach football stadium located at the former Granada Studios in Manchester - will host live beach football matches between international teams, as well as showing live coverage of World Cup football matches taking place on a giant screen.

A specialist High Tempo skills zone will also allow visitors to show off their own footballing prowess in true Brazilian style.

Through B&Q, Tarmac Building Products has supplied 400 tonnes of sand from Crown Farm, Cheshire for the site's pitch and a further 50 tonnes for the relaxation area and Copacabana Beach Bar.

Said Matt Rushton, senior marketing manager at Tarmac: "Normally our specialist sands are used underneath sports surfaces, including the city's Etihad Stadium, as part of a comprehensive drainage system. It's great to actually see our sands taking centre stage at the Fever Pitch park and being used as a playing surface in its own right."

Mike Gumm, head of commercial at Sportcel, the event agency that created and is staging the event on behalf of ITV, said it was "no mean feat importing 450 tonnes of fine grade play sand in to the heart of Manchester".