Tenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

This paper will chart the paradox that has seen Manchester United become England’s most successful club, while seemingly moving away from its local support. After the 1958 Munich Air Crash, no club seemed more embedded in the community, indeed no other institution announced a greater expression of Mancunian identity. Yet, less than 50 years later, and with the club collecting trophies on an unprecedented scale, some supporters were so disillusioned with the corporate image and the psychological distance between Old Trafford and its surrounding streets that they formed their own club, FC United of Manchester. Success on and off the field has made Manchester United an international brand and a fan is as likely to come from Seoul and New York as Salford and Newton Heath, but has the price been the severing of links with communities that traditionally provided the core support? This paper will also examine the profile of United’s support and include excerpts of interviews with a representative of FC United and, looking at the infinitely larger Premier League club, the organization set up to take it to the community, the Manchester United Foundation.