Manchester United fans have been left outraged after the club launched their new ‘forwarding membership’: a tier that basically charges you for the sole privilege of receiving tickets from others.
As confirmed via email on Saturday, United announced that they have now ‘sold out’ of official memberships for the first time in their history which, according to their own estimates, makes them the most subscribed team in world sport.
With over 350,000 official members now on board, the club have taken the decision to close the scheme for both Lite and Full Memberships in order “to protect ticket availability at future games” for existing members, but which will fundamentally prevent others from joining the queue to buy their own ticket.
Notably, however, the club waited to stop the sale of new memberships until after they broke the world record and now, to add insult to injury, the club intend to charge fans who simply want to be able to receive a spare ticket from family or friends through this new United membership tier.
Amusing in itself that their magical cutoff point was once they passed the previous world record for a football club, they decided to then introduce a new, shiny membership category, the forwarding membership!
The news has gone down exactly as you’d expect, with fans rightly pointing out that should you be fortunate enough to receive a ticket from someone who cannot attend the game for whatever reason, that should be down to them as the ticket has already been paid for. No skin off United’s nose.
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Given the busy season, with the club regularly competing in four competitions a year, it can sometimes be hard for fans to make every single match, so many regulars have to pass on their tickets from time to time. Sadly, it seems United are now trying to spin an extra bit of profit from that transaction as well.
Season tickets already set fans back anywhere between £532 and £950 a year (excluding the additional cost of cup games), but whether or not supporters charge mates rates for their spare ticket — again, their discretion — or kindly pass it on for free, the outcome is the same: the seat is filled.
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However, the forwarding membership scheme is the club, essentially, trying to re-insert itself as the middleman after having already charged for the ticket once, hoping to squeeze out even more money from an already angry fan base who believes the owners are only driven by money. Wonder why?
Fucking hell united never fail to surprise me, “forwarding membership” get a grip you money grabbing cunts
Moreover, as explained in @Daytrippingred‘s lengthy thread, despite fans already having to pay a £100 deposit to get ‘priority’ in the extremely long waiting list for a season ticket, they will now have to acquire an even more expensive Premium Membership to stand a chance, with no guarantee you’ll ever get one.
As for those who could never feasibly afford a full season ticket or even regularly throw in for the odd game on top of their Lite membership (£20 just be entered into the ballot to try and secure a ticket), they will now have to pay a 75% of that price just in the hope that a spare ticket comes their way.
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United’s various tiers. Forwarding Memberships are already being charged for the remainder of the season. (Credit: Man United)
Not to ram the point home too hard, but this means if your Dad wants to give you his already paid-for ticket that he’s owned since before you were born — something that you have always been able to do and cost absolutely nothing as recently as last week — you will now have to pay at least £15 a year.
Simply ridiculous.
It’s just another sting in the tail of the current ownership, digital ticketing which has flooded United with data on ticket usage and modern football as a whole
In the fucking bin with the lot of them, the money grabbing bastards.#GlazersOut
It seemed as though the administration made at least some small but positive steps following the recent fan consultation, encouraging more communication with supporters’ groups, greenlighting the Fan Advisory Board (FAB), as well as allowing both opt-out and ticket buy-back schemes.
However, it now looks as though it’s one step forward and two steps back, with the new forwarding membership outrage just the latest in a long line of controversies under the Glazer family ownership.
With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that fans are once again staging not one but two coordinated protests ahead of the Manchester derby on Saturday, 14 January.
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With the Glazers having now hinted at being ‘open’ to the prospect of selling the club, it’s possible that this forwarding membership stunt could be one last attempt at eking out every last penny before they finally call it quits. Reds can only hope.
Today we release protest plans for the City game
These are the most ambitious to-date
A CO-ORDINATED protest from 2 locations
We urge all fans who love our club to keep fighting until they are gone
2027 Manchester Marathon sells out in record time after biggest event ever
Danny Jones
The 2027 adidas Manchester Marathon has already sold out in record time after the biggest event in the race’s history.
Incredible stuff.
Yes, after more than 42,000 runners took on this year’s 26.2-mile challenge – the highest number to date – public places for next year’s Manchester Marathon have gone in the blink of an eye.
To be specific, they were snapped up in just 10 days: even faster than the last time around, with 2026 having also broken the previous fastest (or PB, if you will) time before that.
Posting on social media, the organisers wrote: “We’re blown away by the response as a record-breaking number of public places were secured during our launch window, and we’re now officially at capacity.
“Thank you for the amazing support. We can’t wait to help you turn your 26.2 dreams into reality.”
They also went on to remind people that even if they missed out, potential participants can still secure a place through their official charity partners.
Manchester Marathon maintains annual partnerships with the likes of Alzheimer’s Society, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Mind, and The Christie Charity.
Teaming up with numerous non-profit organisations over the decades after it first began way back in 1908, before enjoying multiple stints during the 1980s and late 90s into the noughties, huge sums have been raised over the years.
It’s never anything less than a heartwarming and inspiring day.
The modern MCR Marathon, as we know it, returned in its present format nearly a decade and a half ago, beginning its current collaboration with sportswear giants adidas, therefore helping raise the profile even further, with the 2026 fundraising tally also reaching a record-breaking £5.2 million this past April.
At the moment, the Manchester Marathon maintains annual partnerships with the likes of Alzheimer’s Society, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Mind, and The Christie Charity.
Once again, these organisations, along with the likes of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity and many more, will continue to offer charity places for the 2027 Manchester Marathon, provided you can hit the fundraising total.
We don’t know about you, but we’re loving this city and the surrounding boroughs being well and truly in their running era, and we also urge all of you who make up part of the local culture to immerse yourself in all aspects – especially when it comes to the post-race season party…
DJs, karaoke, quizzing, three full rooms, an entire beer garden to themselves, and MUCH more. 👀
Manchester City ‘strongly condemn’ racist abuse towards first-team players at Everton
Danny Jones
Manchester City Football Club have released a statement following yet more troubling racist abuse in the Premier League this May bank holiday.
Pep Guardiola’s side faced Everton in a fixture that ended in a 3-3 draw, which could prove pivotal in their pursuit of leaders Arsenal.
Sadly, however, one of the main stories to be taken from the game once again revolves around abuse and discrimination.
Match officials were quickly made aware of racial remarks directed at winger Antoine Semenyo on the day, and, unfortunately, defender Marc Guehi has also been the subject of hateful messaging online in the aftermath of the result.
Sharing a short, but simple and emphatic statement, the club wrote: “Manchester City strongly condemns the racist abuse directed towards Antoine Semenyo at yesterday’s match.
“We welcome the swift action taken by Everton and the police to identify the individual responsible.
“We are also incredibly disappointed to hear that Marc Guéhi was subject to a series of vile racist social media posts last night.”
They go on to add that they will “continue to offer our full support to both Antoine and Marc and never accept discrimination of any kind in our game.”
Everton themselves have since confirmed that local authorities swiftly identified at least one individual alleged to be responsible for the unacceptable behaviour.
As mentioned in their own post, the culprit is said to have been a 71-year-old man who was quickly flagged by fans and stewards inside the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
While this may be the first incident reported at the Toffees’ new home ground, regrettably, it’s just the latest in a long line of similar cases raised not just in English football but the top flight, specifically.
It goes without saying that we’re sorry to hear that stuff like this is still happening, and we send our strength to all those who continue to be affected by this despicable treatment.
As ever, ‘the beautiful game’ is for everyone and racism has no place in society, let alone football – kick it out once and for all. In other news surrounding Man City, there’s also been some controversy surrounding their upcoming FA Youth Cup final.
Danny Jones -
10th January 2023 
