Today, 16th July 2005, a new professional football club in Manchester played their first game. It was F.C. United-Leigh RMI. The match ended 0–0 but constituted a milestone in football fans’ efforts to keep football affordable.
On June 14th 2005, after the name “FC United” had been rejected by the Football Association for being too generic, 4000 supporters pledging more than £100,000 to the creation of a new football club held a democratic vote. Later that day, the name “Football Club United of Manchester” was announced and would be officially registered with the Manchester County FA.
They are currently the largest fully fan-owned football club in the country.
Who are F.C. United?
As the similarity in the team names suggests, FC United was formed by disaffected and disenfranchised Manchester United supporters who wished to address long-standing concerns about modern football’s pursuit of profits at the expense of the fans. As Karl Marginson, FC United’s first manager and in charge for 12 years, explains in an interview with FourFourTwo magazine:
United has been taken from Manchester’s working class. My son wouldn’t be able to go with his mates because it’s too expensive… They can’t go and stand or even sit together like I did.
FourFourTwo
The breaking point came in May 2005 whereby; after battling a takeover from media mogul Rupert Murdoch years earlier, the club was sold to businessman Malcolm Glazer despite polls showing 98 per cent of supporters being against the sale (Source: FourFourTwo). It was now clear to many Manchester United fans that their voice did not matter, they would no longer be able to go to Old Trafford, be that on a point of principle, or because of the cost. This meant setting up their own club, and doing things their way.
But what is the alternative? How can supporters regain their agency? Upon which principles could a democratically run club function?
The Red Rebels’ Manifesto
FC United presents the vision of creating a sustainable club for the long term which is owned and democratically run by its members, accessible to all the communities of Manchester in which they can participate fully. As a not-for-profit organisation, and therefore only being able to function because of the help of local volunteers and donations. All money raised is reinvested in running the club, providing services for members and carrying out community work.
The principles upon which the club operates are stated clearly in their Club Manifesto, with 100% supporter ownership and participation on a “one member one vote” basis, ensuring that the interests of fans are central to decision-making processes.
In practice, club decisions are made by a democratically elected Board (any adult member of the club can be elected), and General Meetings are held whereby all members can vote on a variety of issues. The Annual General Meeting for 2023 included electing four new volunteer Board members, maintaining the club’s ‘pay what you can afford’ season ticket scheme for the 15th consecutive year, and choosing the men’s and women’s teams’ kit designs for next season. Members also voted to introduce an innovative new pricing policy that will reduce tickets for 18- to 21-year-olds to just £5 next season, encouraging more young people to attend matches.
Membership and representation
Heading into their 20th season, currently in the 7th tier of the English footballing pyramid, FC United membership stands at around 2400 (2000 adult and 400 junior) with hundreds of the club’s owners residing in the area surrounding the home ground, Broadhurst Park. Located in northern Manchester and a mile from Manchester United’s ancestral home in Newton Heath, an underfunded and underrepresented area, contrasts with the behemoth of Old Trafford on the opposite side of the city. FC United’s 4400-seater stadium was completed in 2015 with over half of the £6.3m needed to build Broadhurst Park generated by the fans. The rest came from grants from Manchester City Council, the Football Foundation, and Sport England who were persuaded by the importance this development for the club would bring to the local community
Local community work
As stated in its manifesto, FC United strives to develop strong links with the community and encourage young, local participation. Staff and volunteers from the club regularly visit local schools to deliver sports sessions and talks, and Broadhurst Park is often open during half-term breaks to host activity camps with hot meals for underprivileged kids. In March earlier this year, 1000 tickets were given out to residents and nearby schools with food, drink, live music and activities organised across the whole afternoon (as well as a 2-0 win).
The club’s principles have guided its development in the last 19 years however, with membership numbers remaining at a steady level during these two decades, what does the future hold for the supporter-run club? Can they realistically expect to compete against teams with external ownership and commercialism?
The Protest Entering its Third Decade
Unfortunately, evidence in recent years would suggest that the answer to the latter question is probably not. A decade ago, FC United were competing in the 6th tier of English football with Greater Manchester rivals Stockport County and Salford City but, with massive external investment into those clubs since, the two are now way ahead in the 3rd and 4th tiers respectively. Somewhat ironically, it is a collective of former Manchester United stars, including David Beckham and Gary Neville, who have bankrolled Salford City’s controversial rise up the league pyramid.
Furthermore, as a 27.7% stake in Manchester United was sold earlier this year for £1.25bn to local billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a proclaimed lifelong Man Utd fan (and one who attempted to purchase Chelsea two years previously) – what does this mean for the legitimacy of the FC United project as an anti-Glazer protest?
Keeping football affordable
In response to the Ratcliffe news, the club statement read that ‘regardless of who owns Manchester United, FC United will continue to be 100% owned by our fans whilst offering affordable football for everyone at our fan-funded Broadhurst Park ground’. The principles of a democratic decision-making process and a sustainable club model to secure a future for the young fans in Greater Manchester remain both the goal and the solution for their supporters.
However, some opposing fans may criticise this as a lack of ambition, but some might say that you’d only need to ask fans 10 miles to the north-west in Bury to understand the importance of the stability of a local club to its community.
Heading into their third decade, the fight continues. And as the club motto suggests: “FC United is our club, our rules.”
Thinking Points
FC United functions upon the principles of shared ownership and a “one member one vote” system in their decision-making process:
- How might this work in other organisations or political spaces?
- What would the advantages and disadvantages of this be?
- In which other sectors do you see democratic practices?
- In what other ways could football be more democratic? Why?
Find Out More
You can find more information on FC United on the club’s website, there is a video of their first game at Broadhurst Park in 2015 against SL Benfica B team on YouTube, and a video produced by Copa90 in 2015.
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