Reds Around the World: Pakistan

"The support for Manchester United has been in Pakistan for a very long time. Members like Mansoor Murad, Ajmal Ajaib, Hassan Hussein Qureshi have been Reds for several decades and their children are doing the same. All three generations! But we hadn’t had any representation. So when I was in the UK as a student, I spoke to another long-time Red named Bilal Sulehri and we discussed how to get connected as an official Manchester United supporters’ club.

"I went to games and a few nice pubs where they showed United games and I wanted the same thing back in Pakistan. A place where all like-minded fans can get together, create connections and enjoy two hours a week spending time supporting the club they have wanted to visit all their lives.

"My job, my wish, was to create a mini Old Trafford in different cities and I was successful in doing that for six cities in Pakistan. We had already built up a solid base of supporters through Facebook."

"It’s always been popular, but the introduction of different leagues on different channels in the country has helped build it up further. Fortunately, the national team also did well recently, winning a qualification to play World Cup qualifiers. It’s the first time it’s happened and we got packed stadiums as a result, playing the likes of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Tajikistan."

 

"We’re known as cricket-obsessed, but hockey is our national sport and we used to be quite good. One of our members, Trad Israr, highlighted to me that in 1994 Pakistan held four world championships in cricket, squash, hockey and snooker!"

"The locations are spread out very nicely, which is great to see. We have members from Kashmir, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sialkot, Abbottabad, Peshawar, Balochistan. Karachi is heavily represented, there’s a few from Gujranwala. Our headquarters is in Lahore and that’s where I’m based."

 

"I love this question and we have several contenders. It’s a close tie between Saaib, Arbab Iftikhar and Saad Bin Khalid, although Trad Israr regularly pops up with a joke that makes us burst with laughter. Our WhatsApp group provides a lot of laughs and is a great release from the stresses of daily life."

 

"It’s a tie between the Europa League final and the 2016 FA Cup final. We had a fully packed 500-seater cinema for the Europa League final, and winning always helps! For the FA Cup we were packed inside a very small cafe, which got overcrowded due to the demand. It was an electric atmosphere."

 

"Post-Covid it has been hard to fix on a place, but we usually pick coffee shops as they have enclosed spaces with projectors where we sit and have good coffee and a good meal. If it’s a big game, there’s less eating food and more eating nails. But overall our screenings are very lively and we’ve had several fans from abroad join us."

 

"I should put food in the top three! Pakistan is very hospitable too – Ronaldinho, Ryan Giggs and Kaka came here to play sponsor games a couple of years ago. The northern areas in Pakistan are a very famous spot for tourists. We had a famous journalist, Jamie Jackson, who came and he still remembers it fondly…"

 

"Pakistan is home to snow leopards that live far up in the Himalayan mountains. These majestic creatures are one of the rarest species on Earth. The Indus Valley civilisation, which has multiple sites throughout Pakistan, was one of the oldest in the world, and over 2,000 years older than the Egyptian pyramids."

"I need to mention different members I asked, but Wayne Rooney is a popular choice. Khawaja Faiq, Bilal Ahmad, Zain Butt, Trad, Umer Khan, Saaib and Ahmad Butt all chose Rooney. Some chose Cantona and Keane. We’re blessed to have so many options to choose from. Personally, I’ve been a huge Michael Carrick fan since forever, and it’s a dream to meet him one day. 

 

"El Fenomeno, Ronaldo, is a popular choice among our members."

 

"Liverpool, for the historical value of the rivalry. Manchester City was also an option but that’s been more recent. A game versus Liverpool gets your blood flowing like no other!"

"The common consensus is the feeling of being closer to Manchester United. Having an MUSC provides an outlet to our members and we were also able to get invites to various Teams calls with players and events. Things like these make us feel extremely proud to be visibly and audibly connected to Manchester United heroes from the past and present."

 

"It was greeted with overwhelming positivity and the fans are really excited for the future. The staff appointments that have been made behind the scenes are integral to that excitement and we can’t wait for next season."