Manchester United and City to wear bee emblem

City chief executive officer Ferran Soriano said players would wear bees with "immense pride"

Manchester United and City players are to honour victims of the Manchester Arena blast by wearing bee emblems on their football shirts in a derby match.

The shirts will be auctioned off after the game and proceeds will go to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.

The charity has raised more than £12m for the victims of the explosion on 22 May, which killed 22.

City's Ferran Soriano said players would wear bees with "immense pride" at the game on 20 July in Houston, US.

The fixture will be the first Manchester derby to take place outside of the UK and the first meeting between the two clubs since the attack at the end of an Ariana Grande concert.

The bee has become the symbol of solidarity among those affected by the bomb with hundreds of people getting bee tattoos.

City chief executive Mr Soriano said: "The worker bee symbolises everything that makes Manchester such a special city and our players will wear it on their shirts with immense pride, as a demonstration of solidarity with the Manchester community."

Ed Woodward, executive chairman of United, said the city of Manchester has shown "great strength and unity" since the attack and shown the world "how special this city really is".

He added: "Having the worker bee on our shirts... shows the community spirit of our city and football club."