Manchester United’s dedicated fan pitch day returned last week, rewarding more than 90 diehard supporters with the chance to lace up their boots and take to the hallowed turf.
Following the success of 2024’s inaugural iteration, Old Trafford hosted the special post-season opportunity for a second year, for which playing squads – and their managers – were assembled at random from the thousands of Reds who applied from all over the world.
Two games took place, with a women’s match kicking things off in the afternoon, before a men’s encounter rounded off a special few hours at the Theatre of Dreams in the evening.
Both fixtures saw those involved enjoy the chance to use the dressing rooms and walk down the iconic tunnel before taking to the pitch for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, recognising their incredible support for our men’s, women’s and Academy teams across the 2024/25 campaign.
Each contest was followed by a unique post-match presentation, led by United legend Wes Brown, with signed shirts among the prizes awarded to the respective Player of the Match and Moment of the Match winners.
Each contest was followed by a unique post-match presentation, led by United legend Wes Brown, with signed shirts among the prizes awarded to the respective Player of the Match and Moment of the Match winners.
Leonard ‘Lenny’ Cummins from Ireland was the grateful recipient of a jersey as Brown’s star of the second game having netted three goals – one of two hat-trick scorers on the day.
“Just to get here and to have the opportunity to play on the pitch was special, but to score a hat-trick and a couple at the Stretford End was unbelievable.
“That’s what Old Trafford’s all about, special moments.”
“It’s a dream, an absolute dream and to score a hat-trick as well? Unbelievable,”Lenny said with a beaming smile on his face, as he spoke to us by the Old Trafford dugouts.
“Just to get here and to have the opportunity to play on the pitch was special, but to score a hat-trick and a couple at the Stretford End was unbelievable.
“That’s what Old Trafford’s all about, special moments.”
United’s director of fan engagement, Rick McGagh, paid tribute to everyone involved and the lengths many had gone to get to Old Trafford – players from Australia and Canada were among those to take part – while underlining the importance of the event as a whole.
“[Fans coming from places like Australia] perfectly sums up the worldwide support we have for this football club. People are willing to jump on a plane for 24 hours just to come and play on the pitch here.
“But then we’ve also got local fans – there was a lad here who had done every single home and away game this season, including the post-season tour in Asia. So, wherever you look, there are really deserving fans who have had the opportunity to come and play.”
“It’s really important we do this as a club, letting fans have the opportunity to play on this famous pitch,”Rick began.
“[Fans coming from places like Australia] perfectly sums up the worldwide support we have for this football club. People are willing to jump on a plane for 24 hours just to come and play on the pitch here.
“But then we’ve also got local fans – there was a lad here who had done every single home and away game this season, including the post-season tour in Asia. So, wherever you look, there are really deserving fans who have had the opportunity to come and play.”