Embracing equity with our coverage of United Women

Our women’s team was formed in 2018 and has already become one of the best supported sides in the game. Home matches at Leigh Sports Village are consistently played in front of more than 5,000 fans and up to 30,000 Reds are expected to attend this weekend’s Old Trafford fixture against West Ham – the fourth WSL match to be played at the Theatre of Dreams since the team was established. 

As well as the growing number of fans in stands, we have also seen an exponential rise in engagement and following across the United Women dedicated social accounts. Since launching the accounts, the women’s team have become one of the most followed WSL sides, with a 50 per cent increase over the last 12 months.

NEW APP FEATURES

We recognise not everybody can attend or watch the games live, of course, which is where our expanded and in-depth analysis within the United App comes in. 

As of this year, fans can now select their ‘Favourite Player’ from the women’s squad and receive personalised content via United Now Stories and the My United section of the app.

We are currently releasing a new feature which allows fans to quickly discover the latest women's team action, news and views by filtering the news feed on that app visit to only show women’s content. Some fans have this new feature in the latest version of the app, and it will be available to everyone by the end of March. Look out for updates in your chosen app store.

The number of fans who subscribe to United Women push notifications has impressively grown by 60 per cent in the last 12 months, highlighting how interest in Marc Skinner’s side continues to accelerate.

NEW CONTENT

Our inaugural United Women Player of the Month poll was launched in January and over 80,000 votes were cast, leading to the world’s best goalkeeper Mary Earps winning the award. Leah Galton claimed the February prize and our March poll is coming soon.  

Matchday is of course the focal point of every fans’ week and our coverage of United Women has evolved, with live radio commentary provided for the majority of fixtures via MUTV in the United App. There are also live text updates, photography, behind the scenes video, exclusive reaction and highlights.

Consumers of MUTV may have also seen the Women’s Football Show: a monthly magazine series presented by Zarah Connolly that brings fans even closer to the squad. Our award-winning UTD Podcast series has recently included feature-length episodes with Alessia Russo and Ella Toone, plus a powerful edition released this week to celebrate women in football.

There will soon be the ability to submit questions directly to Marc Skinner, too, in an upcoming feature we have appropriately called Question Marc. 

In addition to our digital products, our matchday programmes are created for all home fixtures and history was made in December when United Women took centre stage on the cover of Inside United magazine for the first time.

SHARE YOUR IDEAS

If you have an idea for how we can improve our coverage, then we would love to hear from you.

Please get in touch by emailing Enquiries@ManUtd.co.uk and keep supporting United Women.