When a group of Manchester United fans became unhappy with the ownership, they decided to defy the odds and start their own football club in protest. This is the unique story of FC United of Manchester

In 2005, after slowly acquiring more and more shares in the club, Malcolm Glazer launched a takeover bid. Within a month Glazer took ownership of 98% of the club, and when he eventually gained the last 2%, it had cost him almost £800 million. 

However, most of this capital used to buy the club was through loans, which were secured against the club’s assets. This meant that the debt was tied to Manchester United, and the club took on the financial burden.

The Glazers’ takeover sparked outrage amongst the fans, but for some, this was just the tip of the iceberg. For certain fans enough was enough, and a group of fans formed FC United Of Manchester, a club owned and run by the supporters. This was a protest, a clear and precise message to the Glazer ownership. By May 2005 wheels were in motion, and the club was delivered by a steering committee. 

One of FC United’s board members, Paul Hurst, spoke to Defiance about the club’s formation: “A football club built in the image of Manchester United for people to go and spend their Saturday afternoons

“it being about, you know, what football should really be about, being based in the heart of the community and being a good neighbour and giving the fans the power to make the important decisions.”

Some critics argued that these upset fans should have gone and supported local clubs who were struggling financially rather than start their own team. However, that would discredit the point which they were making. FC United of Manchester was theirs, the fans’, something which nobody could take away or steal from them. If they had gone and taken over another club, they would have been hypocrites, taking over something which wasn’t theirs, just like what had happened to them.

Paul spoke about the reasoning for walking away from Manchester United when he said: “I was adamant that, you know, we know who the Glazers are. They’ve shown they’re not going to listen to the fans. 

“It’s not going to make any difference standing there and just shouting at them there. The only language that they understood was money, and FC United was really born out of it.”

Although the reasons for parting ways with the club were clear and the right thing to do, it was still a difficult decision. Paul spoke about the difficulties of stepping away from the team he supported: “There were people who called Judas and stuff, you know, for going and supporting a new club. And, yeah, that was probably the hard bit.”

Paul spoke about the impact the club’s formation had on his relationship with his friends: “There’s probably, I don’t know, two dozen of us who would go, and there was, I don’t know, maybe four or five of us who actually went and started doing FC full time. And, you know, there were people who I was friends with there who kind of changed that relationship with it.”

FC United’s story is born out of defiance and challenging the status quo. “Football doesn’t just have to be what Sky Sports say it is and what the Premier League say it is. And we’re more than happy to speak out on that.

“You know, the example of scrapping FA Cup replays… we’ve spoken out heavily on that. We believe we’re trying to build those links with not just other supporter-owned clubs… but clubs all over Europe… that’s what defiance is for me.”

Although FC United’s story holds the premise of being an underdog because of their history and the way in which the club was formed, they have also faced challenges during their time in Non-League.

Non-league is the term used to describe the divisions outside of a country’s top leagues. Often the clubs in these leagues are not fully professional, and their budgets are minuscule compared to the top four leagues in England. 

“There are concerns, you know, certain months there. If we get halfway through the month of, you know, oh, are we going to be able to make payroll at the end of the month there because of, you know, particularly postponed games and so on? That’s a huge challenge at non-league.”

Paul also spoke about the way in which FC United is run: “We’re never going to risk the club’s long-term financial sustainability to go and chase short-term success. So, although we’ve got one of the largest average attendances in the league. Although people see our crowds and think, oh, these guys should be p*****g the league. We benchmarked that last year, and we probably put ourselves about two-thirds down the league. We’re certainly in the bottom half and probably in the bottom third of wage bills from the league.”

The club has had some big names come on board with their mission and belief system. Eric Cantona joined the club as a co-owner. Cantona understood what the club was all about, and even signed up his four children and his two brothers. Cantona agreed to keep in touch with the club even after his visit.

Paul spoke about Cantona’s visit to the club: “He said, ‘I’m going to become a member while I’m here today.’ And he said, ‘I’m going to… these two are going to sign as well and my four children.’ So, wow. Well, I wouldn’t even ask to ask him that. That was his idea. And even the whole sort of the publicity videos, which everyone’s seen, came out of the blue.”

In 2025, FC United of Manchester has achieved four promotions since their establishment 20 years ago. Even after their one and only relegation in 2019, the club has stuck to its foundations and is the third largest fan owned club in the United Kingdom. They currently sit in the seventh tier of English football, yet they still have one of the highest home attendances in non league football. The democratically run club instantly became an underdog when they broke away from one of the footballing giants, but it’s what they have done since which truly places their unique stamp on the sport.