Man Utd want to use historic Old Trafford match to ‘push team forward’

Women’s Champions League: Man Utd v Paris St-Germain

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester Date: Wednesday, 12 November Kick-off: 20:00 GMT

Manchester United’s Champions League match with Paris St-Germain will be historic.

It is the first time the women’s side has played a European game at Old Trafford.

At a club built on the legend of the Busby Babes, the 1968 European Cup winners and the Champions League triumphs under Sir Alex Ferguson, it is a significant milestone.

And it is a further step for Marc Skinner’s side who, until Saturday’s surprise Women’s Super League defeat by Aston Villa, had enjoyed an excellent season.

“Manchester United has an amazing history in European competition,” said Matt Johnson, the club’s head of women’s football.

“For us it is about the future. We must put a new lens on it.

“This is a really good chance to push forward with the women’s team and hopefully create a future that in 40 to 50 years’ time, means someone else is saying how they broke down barriers, just as Sir Matt [Busby] did in the 1950s and 60s and Sir Alex did after that.”

United have begun their debut Champions League campaign impressively, winning their first two games.

Beating a PSG side that has lost both of theirs would virtually guarantee at least a place in next year’s play-off round before forthcoming encounters with heavyweight duo Wolfsburg and Lyon in the first phase.

It is an impressive effort for a club whose commitment to the women’s game has frequently been questioned.

United were the last of the major Premier League clubs to launch a Women’s Super League team, initially joining the second tier in 2018.

The absence of minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s at recent cup finals has been noted, particularly in 2024, when he elected to watch the men’s side lose to Arsenal in the Premier League at Old Trafford rather than be at Wembley as Skinner’s team hammered Tottenham.

Add in the women’s team being forced to relocate to temporary dressing rooms to allow the men’s side to take over their purpose-built £7m training ground facility during last season’s extensive Carrington overhaul and it is easy to understand why United’s hierarchy is criticised.

Johnson feels the claims of disinterest are unfair.

“Manchester United is totally committed to the women’s team,” he said.

“This is very much one club. We get access to all the same facilities and all the same staffing resources.

“There is a real family feel to the club. Being within the bubble, you feel totally supported and embraced by the club.

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United’s Champions League qualification campaign began with stories emerging of players making their own way back from Stockholm when the club opted against a direct return to Manchester after beating Hammerby in the initial phase in August.

Then there was the curious case of the lost boots before the first leg of their tie with Norway’s SK Brann in September. The boots, it turned out, had been loaded on to the wrong plane by airport staff. United officials, on discovering the issue hours before kick-off, dashed to a local sports store in Bergen to get replacements.

“The Stockholm thing was taken out of proportion,” said Johnson.

“We had been away for five or six days and the manager gave the players two or three days off. Some of our Scandinavian players asked to stay with their families. Some of our English players said they wanted to go to a concert in London.

“What was missed with the boots was that the club found a solution and every player played in brand new boots in their own make. That was no small feat.”

Mary Earps also offered a veiled criticism of United when she joined PSG last year, saying the club’s “transition” was “not aligned” with her career expectations.

United’s decision to switch the PSG game to Old Trafford is symbolic.

It is unlikely to result in a significant attendance, fan turn out may not even be beyond the 12,000 capacity of their regular home at Leigh Sports Village, 15 miles away, where the Lyon match will be played next month.

Johnson says United’s women’s operation has a voice at the table of all discussions around a new stadium but feels rather than talking about moving games away from Leigh, the focus should be on expanding the fanbase so they have to.

“First of all, the players love Leigh,” he said. “It is perfect for women’s football and we can generate a really good atmosphere.

“On the conversation around whether we play more games at Old Trafford and what does the new stadium look like for the women’s side, there is a lot of work to be done within the club and on the marketing side to see if we can grow the fanbase so we are getting more than 12,000.

“That would give us the argument that we need to go to Old Trafford because we can start to fill it and can create the special atmospheres.

“That is the longer-term plan. I would like to think that the ultimate vision would be in 10 or 15 years’ time, Manchester United are playing in a 100,000-seater stadium and it is full for the women’s team.