The Professional Squash Association (PSA) have today announced that the 2017 PSA Men’s and Women’s World Championships will be held side by side in Manchester, England from December 9 -17, 2017 when record equal prize money will be on offer across both draws.

For the first time ever the prize purse for the pinnacle event on both the Men’s and Women’s Tours will be equal, with the winners set to take home over $45,000 each.

The event will see almost 200 of the world’s best squash players descend on Manchester for the week-long tournament, which will be staged at The National Squash Centre before moving to Manchester Central from the quarter-final stage onwards.

Manchester will be only the second destination ever, and the first since Rotterdam in 2011, to host concurrent Men’s and Women’s World Championships and will welcome squash players from upwards of 30 countries when the action begins.

“We are delighted to confirm that the 2017 PSA Men’s and Women’s World Championships will take place in Manchester during what will be a watershed moment for the professional tour,” said PSA CEO Alex Gough.

“Since hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2002, Manchester has become synonymous as a world class sporting destination and achieving parity in prize money for the most prestigious tournament on the PSA World Tour is a huge step forward that everyone in the sport can be proud of.

“We look forward to working closely with all at England Squash and Manchester City Council over the forthcoming two years to ensure that the 2017 World Championships go down as one of the most memorable of all time.”

England Squash Chief Executive Keir Worth said: “We are very excited to be bringing both the Men’s and Women’s World Championships to Manchester in

2017 in what we feel will be a great move for squash not just in England but globally as well.

“England is the birthplace of squash and we feel that it is fitting that we take the lead in becoming the first country to rightly offer equality in prize money to all the competitors across both draws.

“We already enjoy a strong working relationship with the PSA and look forward to building yet further on that over the next two years as we continue to build towards what will be a fantastic week of sporting action her win Manchester.”

Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for Culture and Leisure, Councillor Rosa Battle, said: “We’re committed to continuing to showcase the city as a hub of world class sporting activity and are delighted to add the 2017 Men’s and Women’s World Squash Championships to a calendar including athletics, netball, basketball, cycling and football events.

“Manchester is already a regular host of high profile squash tournaments, such as the British Grand Prix at The National Squash Centre, so the addition of the World Championships will continue to inspire a new generation of players across the city.”

The 2017 World Squash Championships will be National Lottery funded by UK Sport. Simon Morton, Chief Operating Officer at UK Sport, said: “UK Sport’s aim is to inspire the nation through hosting world class sporting events here in the UK, so we are very excited that the 2017 World Squash Championships has been awarded to Manchester following England Squash’s excellent bid.

“Squash is a dynamic, accessible and global sport, in which we have enjoyed huge success with players like Nick Matthew and Laura Massaro inspiring the next generation. The bid partners were determined to secure a combined men’s and women’s event and so it will be fantastic to see the world’s top athletes competing here in the UK for the sport’s most sought after prize.

“We look forward to working in partnership with the PSA, England Squash and Manchester City Council to deliver a wonderful showcase for the sport.”