Match preview: FC United travel to Warsaw to face AKS Zły 

FC United make their debut in the inaugural FENIX Trophy on Wednesday night when the Reds take on Alternatywny Klub Sportowy Zly at the Bemowski Center Football in Warsaw. 

Please note: the match is not at AKS Zly’s usual ground of the Don Pedro Arena, so please don’t go there. The match will be played at Bemowski Center Football, a bigger stadium in the Fort Bema area of the city.

The fixture is the fifth match so far in the European friendly tournament that has seen Milan-based Brera FC invite seven clubs from seven different countries to compete together in two groups of four with a play-off finals weekend next year in Rimini, northern Italy. 

The clubs from Amsterdam, Hamburg, Prague, Rome, Seville, Warsaw and of course Manchester were chosen by Brera because they all have ‘exceptional social, historical and cultural distinctiveness’. 

The FENIX Trophy aims to build a network of European clubs and cities working together whilst ‘increasing a sense of European belonging among participants and supporters’. The heart-warming tournament motto, although very slightly adapted, will be familiar to the FC United faithful: “Make friends, not millionaires”.  

Our hosts – AKS Zly 
Like FC United, our hosts are a supporter-owned, democratic football club and also play at level seven of their national football pyramid. We have a lot in common as our formation in 2005 helped inspire fans in Warsaw to set up their own club in 2015. 

Speaking to Polish website The First News, one of the club founders Kris Gorniak explains: “We were watching a match in a bar out in Warsaw’s Praga district and found ourselves sharing our disappointment about how Polish clubs were run, not to mention how those in the stands chose to support their teams. 

“We had all heard of sides like AFC Wimbledon and FCUM, so figured why not create our own football revolution in the capital’s East End.”

The literal translation of the club’s name is Alternative Sports Club Zly – they also have basketball and frisbee teams! – and Zly is the name of a character who fought against hooligans in the novel Zly by renowned Warsaw writer Leopold Tyrmand. 

AKS Zly got their FENIX campaign underway on Thursday 30 September when they lost 2-1 at home to Brera in a closely contested match, which saw all three goals coming in the last half an hour of the match. 

Team news
The Warsaw club will be keen to bounce back immediately at the Bemowski Center, and FC United manager Neil Reynolds is ready for a tough game and a special occasion. He said: “To have the opportunity lead this special football club into Europe is an absolute honour for me. We’re all excited, it’s an incredible occasion and we don’t take any of it for granted.  

“I know this will be an experience of a lifetime for all involved. It’ll be tremendous to see FC United fans in Europe and I’m determined to make sure that we’re not just there to make up the numbers. Success is what we strive for.

“We’re taking a really competitive, strong squad. Yes, there are two or three people missing out for various reasons, but we’ll field a strong line-up. We have a game to win at Runcorn on Saturday, but we’re also going out to win in Warsaw – that’s our aim.”

And Reynolds added: “We’re really grateful for all the fans travelling out to support us, spending money that’s been hard to come by recently, and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone out there.”  

The 16-man squad to face AKS Zly is: 
Dan Lavercombe  
Drew Baker
Adam Dodd
Aaron Morris
Curtis Jones
Matt Rains
Michael Donohue
Alistair Waddecar
Michael Potts
Paul Ennis 
Sam Burns
Jack Bennett
Brad Holmes
Keaton Mulvey 
Josh Brookes 
Neil Reynolds

Watch online
Supporters unable to make the trip to Warsaw can watch the match for free on the FENIX Trophy YouTube channel on Wednesday night with kick-off at 6:45pm (British Summer Time).

FC United will soon confirm a FENIX Trophy home fixture to host at Broadhurst Park before Christmas and the remaining four group matches, including trips to Amsterdam and Milan, will take place next spring.

All aboard the caravan of love, next stop Warsaw...