A Force of Inspiration Celebrating 15 Years of Manchester United Foundation – Man Utd

As Shiels says, much of this work is based on the long term. But perhaps the most important success story in the Foundation’s recent history – and certainly the most well publicised – came during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“What we did there was survival stuff,” he states. “We had some money, so we gave our partner schools £10,000 of non-ringfenced money. We said to them: ‘Go and serve your community, the most vulnerable children… show them a glimmer of light in what is a dire situation.’ What came back were stories of them buying washing machines, bedding, curtains,food.

“I remember a mum with a 20-year-old girl with Down’s syndrome. She said: ‘I got Covid, and the creative arts pack the school sent got us through it.’ The pack was literally paper plates, a paintbrush, glue, stick-on paper. Two quid. And that got the mum over Covid without having to worry about her daughter. For two quid.”

Then there was the tonnes of food sent out into the community, day after day – much of it prepared by the club’s executive chef, James Tagg. “The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand was like a supermarket,” Shiels marvels. “There were three massive articulated refrigeration trucks outside. It was tremendously inspirational and motivational to be a part of.”

That work really cut through to supporters, in particular, during a time when elite football was paused. But Shiels says there will be no big parties for the 15th anniversary this weekend, and cautions that conditions are even worse for Greater Manchester kids than before the pandemic. “The message is: we’ve just got to be motivated to do more,” he insists.

“More” includes a pilot project in Derry/Londonderry, through a partnership with Ulster University. It aims to shepherd kids from age five to 21, at which point they will have completed a degree with the Foundation. Each child will have the Foundation’s support throughout every stage of their education, to try and prevent them dropping off the radar when they move from primary to secondary school, for example.

“We want our university partners to research it,” John explains. “If we see that kids who go to these ‘supported’ schools do better, then that has to be looked at as a new system of education. That team of support people don’t necessarily have to wear Manchester United Foundation tracksuits. It could be other influential organisations, it could be the biggest employer in the town. But I think it could be one way of linking the education world with the adult world.”

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