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Match Arrangements: FC United vrs newly formed Bangor 1876 in a pre-season friendly

Match Arrangements: FC United vrs newly formed Bangor 1876 in a pre-season friendlyOn Saturday 20th July ko 3pm FC United will be welcoming newly formed Clwb Pêl-Droed Bangor 1876 Football Club to Broadhurst Park for a pre-season friendly.




Saturday 20th July ko 3pm
FC United v Bangor 1876

Broadhurst Park Lightbowne Road, Moston, M40 0FJ
£7 Adults, £4 Concessions, £1 u/18s
Turnstiles open at 1pm

Pre-Season Friendly Programme (covering all games) : £2
Teamsheet: 50p

From 1pm in the SMRE Bar (under the large terrace), we have a ’Course You Can Malcolm’ featuring live music and poetry together with tater ash and a guest ale from Bangor, alongside our usual range of beers and lagers. The SMRE Bar will close after half-time.

Click here to read more about what’s on at ’Course You Can Malcolm’

The Main Stand Function Room will open at 12 noon and closes at 8pm. Between 1pm and 6pm food will be served. Access to the Main Stand before the turnstiles open is via the Main Reception Entrance.

All other food outlets are open serving the full repertoire of matchday food.

The Cask Ale Bar situated under the Main Stand will be serving two guest beers from Beartown brewery. This bar opens at 1pm and closes after half-time.

The club shop will be open from 1pm-3pm and from 4.45pm-5.30pm.

There are no shuttle buses running on Saturday (and not for any of the pre-season friendlies). However supporters can catch the number 181/182 bus from Lever Street in Manchester city centre, which stops outside the ground. Alternatively alight the Metrolink tram at Newton Heath / Moston followed by a 20 minute walk to the ground.

Car Parking is available at the ground for £5 or alternatively at nearby St. Matthews School for £3.

Season Tickets, Ten Match Ticket Books and Memberships will be on sale from the Membership Stall, situated inside the ground adjacent to the SMRE turnstiles. Card and cash payments are accepted.

Post Match in the Main Stand Function Room

5:30pm: FC players to join supporters in the bar. There will be food for players and also a chicken curry for fans.

6:30pm – An Introduction to the Players by Manager Neil Reynolds – he will introduce each player and get one or two to say a few words too.

6:45pm – Words from a representative of Bangor 1876.

6:50pm – Presentation of the FA People’s Cup to the FC United disability team. We will possibly have the Manchester FA Women’s Challenge Cup final and the Argyle Sports Cup to the Women’s team but we are awaiting confirmation of that.

7:30pm – Coaches to Bangor depart

Match Preview

Barely a week after visiting Enfield Town, the UK’s first supporter owned football club, we will be welcoming the latest fan owned club to Moston and we are honoured to be hosting Bangor 1876’s inaugural fixture.

In echoes of FC United’s formation in 2005 a group of Bangor City fans, unhappy with the owners of their club, decided in May to form a breakaway club as the three times Welsh Premier League champions were demoted from the top tier of Welsh football after running into serious financial problems with players and suppliers going unpaid – at one stage the club had to ask supporters to help pay electricity and water bills after supplies were cut off.

In June Bangor City, one of the oldest clubs in Welsh football, faced a winding up order in the High Court over an unpaid tax bill and it is currently appealing against a deduction of 42 points during the 2018-19 season for alleged multiple breaches of Football Association of Wales rules which may result in the club being relegated to the third tier of Welsh football.

The Bangor fans, fed up with the way that their club was being run, and fearing for the future of top flight football in the city, voted to form a supporter owned club incorporated, like FC United, as a community benefit society.

And it’s clear that the link between the club and its local community is of paramount importance to Bangor 1876 – a statement by the Bangor City Football Club Supporters Association following the formation of the new club made it clear that “we are not disowning Bangor City FC or its history, the club is ours, it belongs to the fans and the local community”. The name Bangor 1876 acknowledges the origins of organised football in the city and the club’s badge incorporates the city’s coat of arms.

The Football Association of Wales have confirmed that the newly formed club will begin life in the Gwynedd League, in the fifth tier of the Welsh League, for the 2019-20 season with the club playing its home matches at Bangor University.

At a time when the existence of many football clubs across England and Wales is perilous as unscrupulous owners stretch them to the limit in pursuit of a share of the billions of pounds poured into the game, the formation of Bangor 1876 is a reminder that supporter ownership offers a means of bucking that trend and empowering the people without whom football would be nothing – the fans.

The achievements of FC United, on and off the pitch, over the last decade and a half are proof that the supporter ownership model, built on the passion, hard work and vision of ordinary football supporters, can be a success.

We are sure that all FC United fans will join us in wishing the supporters of Bangor 1876 all the very best as they begin their journey as a supporter-owned, community driven football club. And let’s hope that this is as memorable an occasion for everyone as a similar trip we made fourteen years ago to AFC Wimbledon – another example of a thriving supporter owned football club welcoming a new one to the fold.

Recalling that occasion FC United’s chair Adrian Seddon said that “the similarities behind the formation of Bangor 1876 will resonate with supporters of FC United and for us the announcement of this fixture will bring back many memories of the summer of 2005.
Fourteen years ago, almost to the day, AFC Wimbledon welcomed our fledgling club to Kingsmeadow for our second ever fixture and a bond was created between our two clubs that continues to this day. We are delighted that in four weeks’ time Bangor supporters will get to see the club they own run out at Broadhurst Park and we can share in that special moment just as Wimbledon fans did with us."

Meanwhile Kevin Owen, speaking on behalf of Bangor 1876, said that “CPD Bangor 1876 FC are absolutely thrilled that FC United of Manchester have agreed to host our first ever fixture at Broadhurst Park on Saturday 20th July.

The parallels behind the foundation of both clubs reflect a common bond between the two teams and we are grateful for FC United’s support as we begin our journey as Bangor 1876. We hope to emulate a degree of FC United’s success as we seek to restore a sense of pride for football fans and the community in the Bangor area. We thoroughly look forward to what will no doubt be an auspicious occasion for both our club and fans”.

So get yourself down to Broadhurst Park on Saturday 20th July for a chance not only to get an early look at FC United’s squad for the new season but also to offer a very warm welcome to the players, supporters and officials of the latest fan owned football club Bangor 1876.



First Posted ~ 14:48 Fri 21 Jun 2019
News ID ~ 8421
Last Updated ~ 16:00 Fri 19 Feb 2021