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Please do your bit by staying away from our pre-season friendlies.

New FA guidelines allow the club to hold friendly matches from this Sunday to prepare for the new season. FC United thrives on being a member owned and supported club which encourages active support at all our matches.

We are proud to see such large numbers turn up to support our men’s and women’s sides week in week out and both Neil Reynolds and Kamran Hussain regularly highlight just what a difference our vocal support make.

It is therefore with a heavy heart that we must ask you to keep away from Broadhurst Park and opposition grounds for all matches played by our men’s and women’s teams until government guidelines change and attendance is allowed. This is currently not expected until September.

We know how much you have missed watching our teams and we can assure you that we have missed having you in the ground just as much. The club is currently finalising a comprehensive risk assessment which will demonstrate to supporters and stakeholders that we can safely host you at Broadhurst Park again when government guidelines allow this. As soon as we can we want you back, and hopefully that will be very soon, but unfortunately the time is not yet right and we must ask you to stay away from all friendlies.

Any supporter arriving for any match in the stadium will not be allowed entry. Our women’s team will play a number of friendlies on the 3G pitch and these also must be closed doors. Although there is a public right of way through our car park which prevents us sealing it off when matches are played we must ask anyone who has an interest in our women’s team to please heed our notice to stay away. If crowds gather, the club may have to take the unwelcome decision to cancel a match and future friendlies. Any gathering in our car park could be deemed an illegal gathering and see a police intervention.

Women’s team manager Kamran Hussain added his voice to the club’s appeal to supporters, saying: “During these unprecedented times and with the government’s current restrictions we need to stay as safe as possible. This means please do not attend the women’s team pre-season friendlies as this is a risk to everyone’s safety and could lead to the cancellation of future friendlies. Let’s all do our bit and support the club in a different way. We hope to see you all soon but for now a little extra patience is needed”.

Men’s team manager Neil Reynolds had a similar message: “After the news released by the government yesterday we need to ensure that safety measures are continually adhered to. The last thing anyone wants is a further delay to the football season starting. With this in mind can I make a plea to all supporters that you follow the strict guidelines and stay away from the upcoming friendlies until we are told otherwise. The fans are everything to this football club and we all the love the interaction and relationship we have built together, however, I doubt any of us could deal with a further setback. I hope you all understand this difficult message; we can’t wait to see you all again very soon. Gaffer”.

Last night’s government announcement that restrictions need to be tightened in large parts of Northern England and including all of Greater Manchester is a stark reminder that this terrible pandemic is still active in our society and that we must all do our part to restrict its spread and save lives.

For now the best way to support the club is to stay away. We thank you in advance for your understanding.


First Posted ~ 12:35 Fri 31 Jul 2020
News ID ~ 8738
Last Updated ~ 22:45 Thu 4 Feb 2021