Club discusses Women's plans with fan reps
At a meeting with representatives of the Manchester United Women fan group, Football Director John Murtough and other senior leaders discussed recent events and provided an update on future plans.
The pandemic created challenges over the last year across football and across the club in terms of mandatory protocols around training and games.
A combination of these factors, together with the impact of adverse winter weather conditions on the pitches, affected the usual training locations and schedules for the Women’s team at Leigh Sports Village.
As a result, after considering options, the team relocated to the Aon Training Complex. This required flexibility across the club in terms of use of facilities and COVID-19 protocols.
Going forward, the club will introduce a package of improvements for the Women’s team facilities at the Aon Training Complex, starting over this summer.
Longer term, Joel Glazer recently referenced that the club will significantly increase investment in Old Trafford and our training complex to ensure that the facilities remain among the best in Europe.
The long-term intention is for a fully integrated approach to the training ground with the Women’s team, Men’s team and Academy at one site.
Since the initial investment to start the Women’s team in 2018, the club has continued with significant backing year-on-year to help the team progress, including extensive on-pitch and off-pitch recruitment. Casey had been involved in player recruitment for this summer and that process continues, led by John Murtough.
Evidence of progression is clear, from our formation as a team in the Women’s Championship in 2018/19 to fourth place in the Women’s Super League in 2019/20, through to challenging for UEFA Champions League qualification in 2020/21.
The club is actively involved in recruitment for a new Women’s team manager following Casey’s departure and looks forward to next season with optimism.