FC United of Manchester FC United of Manchester FC United of Manchester Badge FC United of Manchester Pitch In

FC UNITED FANS ARE GETTING ORGANISED

FC UNITED FANS ARE GETTING ORGANISEDIt’s probably fair to say that when those of us of a certain age were singing ourselves hoarse in rainy Rotterdam celebrating Manchester United’s victory over Barcelona in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final on 15th May 1991 that we perhaps didn’t envisage ourselves, exactly twenty five years on, sat in a function room in sunny Prestwich debating the finer points of electoral policy.

Such is life at FC United of Manchester.



At the end of an often acrimonious twelve months, the debate was often lively at yesterday’s reconvened General Meeting which was attended by more than four hundred of the Club’s co-owners. As the details of twenty three resolutions and thirteen members’ votes were debated and voted on, over the course of four hours, the passion of the Club’s members and collective desire to get this football club back on track was clear for all to see. The votes will be counted on Wednesday evening.

Furthermore, at the end of April, the FC United board unanimously agreed that it is in the best interests of the Club to call an Extraordinary General Meeting. At the EGM, to be held on 25th June at the Longfield Suite in Prestwich, all remaining board members will either stand down permanently or stand down and seek re-election. The EGM will elect a new board for the Club. This will provide members with the opportunity to vote for a newly formed board with a fresh mandate to represent the Club’s best interests and best serve the Club going forward.

Since the announcement of the EGM, FC United supporters have been getting organised and embracing, once again, the DIY spirit that got this football Club off the ground in a matter of weeks in 2005. A large number of supporters have already offered their skills, time and expertise to assist with a range of key tasks.

The remaining four FC United board members have backed supporters’ plans to investigate establishing a series of new volunteer teams, to add to the already established excellent volunteer groups. It is proposed that each team will have a specific focus with a nominal lead that will report into a Board member and provide regular updates to both Board and fellow co-owners. The composition of the each team will be reviewed after the election of a new board at the EGM.

On Friday 6th May, it was announced that a volunteer-led communications team would pick up all the necessary communications activity for the Club. The team, which consists of fourteen FC United supporters with a wealth of communications experience including previous experience of running the various communications channels at the Club, is already making significant progress in ensuring that the Club communicates effectively with its membership.

In addition to communications, the areas where the Club is looking for members to get involved, together with the specific skills and experience required, are listed below:

- Sponsorship – marketing, sales, customer business development, client management, communications

- Organisation operation and design – HR, people management, role and org structure, delegation of authority, role calibration, recruitment

- Ground improvements – planning, building, health and safety, funding, project management

- Democratic processes – elections organisation and administration, bid/legal/motion writing and proof reading

- Function rooms – marketing, sales, customer business development, client management, communications, IT (bookings)

If any FC United member is interested in volunteering for any of these areas, please email fcvolunteering@gmail.com as soon as possible. Much of this work can be done remotely and even if you can only spare a few hours here or there it could still be very useful.

In May 1991 the James’ song Sit Down rang around the Feyenoord Stadion and became the United supporters’ anthem from that delirious evening when we went home with the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Twenty five years on, in contrast, the supporters of FC United of Manchester are leaving their settees and stepping up to assist their football club. It’s at times like this when we fully appreciate the wealth of expertise, knowledge and talent that we have amongst our members whether that involves running businesses, counting beans or laying bricks. It may be a cliche but our members truly are our greatest asset.



First Posted ~ 17:13 Mon 16 May 2016
News ID ~ 6842
Last Updated ~ 16:00 Fri 19 Feb 2021