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FC United XI crash to 17-man Rest of the Co-op World Team

A young FC United team went down 3-1 to a team made up of representatives of the global co-operative movement last Thursday November 1st. The rest of the world team was made up of co-op leaders attending the world co-operative expo in Manchester, which attracted 12,000 visitors. The co-op heads considered the match a great success. Their captain, Todor from Bulgaria, was delighted: "Tonight will be remembered for years to come! Everything was fantastic! Truly amazing! Everyone loved it."

Amongst the opposition were Ed Mayo, head of Co-operatives UK, a deputy Chief Executive of the Co-operative Group plus the heads of the Co-operative federations for Bulgaria, Russia and Europe and representatives from India. Giving away an average of 30 years in age and five stone in weight, our young players were made to work hard as Margy watched on, accompanied by Pauline Green, Head of the World Co-operative Movement. They found themselves playing against a team which very quickly built up to playing 17 players on the pitch. Coach, Dave Brown commented: "Our players struggled to find space on the pitch." Not surprising really....

The match was just one of FC United’s contributions to the international feast of exhibitions, conferences and workshops mainly centred on Manchester Central (GMex). Immediately outside the complex, visitors’ children were invited to participate in football fun and games in a marquee staffed by FC United player/coaches. General manager Andy Walsh spoke at a Football Fans Museum special reception to celebrate co-operatives in football, whilst club representatives also addressed two workshops on supporter ownership and community shares. Press Officer, Andy Walker, was cheered to the rooftops by 900 international delegates as he lifted the Co-operatives UK trophy awarded to FC United for best Media Impact of any UK co-operative. The club also arranged for "Looking for Eric" to be played continually in one of the exhibition bars, just in case visitors needed a reminder.

Special thanks go to the volunteers - Lee Sutton, Howard Patient, Steve Pagnam, Danny Skade, Colin Skade, Brian Pendlebury, Lucy Pendelbury, Kath Harvey, and Kathy Crotty that staffed the FC stalls at the Fans Museum and for the three days of the GMex exhibition. Their efforts have led to thousands of visitors going home with FC United fliers and more than £3,000 worth of FC shirts, badges, scarves, hats and ties. Customers included visitors from Iran, Pakistan, India, Japan, Costa Rica, and China, emphasising most importantly that, as a result, the name of our club and what we stand for, will once more be taken across five continents.



First Posted ~ 16:38 Mon 5 Nov 2012
News ID ~ 4540
Last Updated ~ 01:52 Tue 16 Feb 2021