Officials at Manchester United have met with members of The 1958, a supporter’s group behind several high-profile protests, for the first time.
The group have helped organise many of the biggest protests against the Glazers at Old Trafford in recent years. In 2022 a number of its members planned to stage a protest outside the home of Richard Arnold, before then chief executive officer eventually agreed to meet with the supporters in a local pub.
United’s chief operating officer Collette Roche and director of fan engagement Rick McGagh held an 80-minute with four members of The 1958 this week in an example of Ineos’ efforts to bridge the gap to disgruntled supporters.
CEO Omar Berrada is credited with setting up the discussion.
Steve Crompton, media and communications representative for FC58, a newly established fan coalition that will be the supporter representation arm of The 1958, said: ‘The meeting with the club went very well where we spoke about our intention to move into fan representation, with FC58 the fan representation division of The 1958.
A Manchester United supporters’ group, The 1958, have staged high-profile protests against the Glazers in recent years
The group are pictured at one of their protests on the opening day of last season in August
Manchester United CEO Omar Berrada was credited with setting up the meeting by the group
‘We remain fiercely independent with no agenda or self-driven ambitions. This will become crystal clear following the release of our launch. It is a much-needed new dawn for fan presentation.’
He added: ‘We discussed our concerns about the current fan engagement process and how this could be improved. Although we didn’t get through all our agenda, we feel it was a positive introduction and a platform to move forward.’
United have held regular meetings in recent years with the fans’ advisory board, fans’ forum and the Manchester United Supporters Trust. Additionally, they have had frequent dialogue with The Red Army group which has focused on improving the atmosphere on matchdays at Old Trafford.
Manchester United COO Collette Roche (middle left) and director of fan engagement Rick McGagh met with four members of The 1958
A United spokesperson said: ‘We believe in the benefits of dialogue between the club and fans and meet with a variety of groups as part of this approach from time to time.
‘Our main channels for engagement continue to be via our fans’ advisory board, fans’ forum and the recognised independent supporters’ trust, MUST. These channels give fans a voice at the heart of the club, and we welcome all fans and fan groups who want to engage constructively within that framework.’
