MUDSA and Manchester United Supporters Trust Partnership
The MUDSA Committee are proud to announce that they will be working with MUST on future fan engagements. MUDSA will continue with its current roles and strive to represent the Disabled section of fans, whilst this new partnership will improve our voice within the wider fan groups. We welcome the fact that MUST are moving towards a more diverse viewpoint in order to fairly represent all areas and types of fans and their individual needs.
Current MUDSA Committee member Rick Clement will be joining the MUST committee as MUDSA liaison. Rick will continue in his current role retaining his place on the MUDSA committee whilst acting as a liaison between ourselves and MUST at their committee meetings in order to act as a voice for all Disabled fans.
Rick said “I’m looking forward to this new partnership with MUST. I believe in working together, it can only increase the understanding of MUDSA’s membership and their needs, alongside those of our fellow Supporters. Many issues involving Manchester United fans involve supporters of all types, so it makes perfect sense that we have a way of communicating this together. I look forward to representing MUDSA with the best of my abilities and fully understand the large responsibilities in taking on this role. I’d like to thank the rest of the committee for their support in putting my name forward.”
Below is the MUST statement for you to read.
MUST broadens supporter representation with expanded committee
– Representatives of MUDSA (Disabled Supporters Association), Rainbow Devils and Barmy Army women’s team supporters join MUST committee
MUST is delighted to announce that its new re-energised committee includes broader representation as it seeks to ensure all fans are given a platform to have their say.
Central to this expanded committee will be representatives from supporter organisations representing special interest groups. This includes representatives from MUDSA, the disabled supporters association; Rainbow Devils (the LGBTQ+ supporters group) and the Manchester United Women’s Team Barmy Army. While we have always sought to represent the views of all United supporters, emphasis has often appeared to be primarily on Season Ticket holders and other match going fans as this is the area where we have been able to make the most impact in recent times. However we are determined to ensure we are able to reflect the views of all United supporters and this is another step towards that goal.
MUST, as the official* supporter organisation for United fans, believes it is important to reach out to all fans to ensure we best reflect the full range of views of supporters during engagement with the Club. It has taken a while to formalise these relationships but we are delighted they will now move forwards for the benefit of their members and our wider supporter base.
This has been a very busy year for MUST. From the club approving our plans for a rail seat trial, to raising money for local food banks and establishing plans for how the club treated match going fans through the Covid-19 pandemic, we have sought to ensure fans were not forgotten.
This serves to set our stall out for the coming year; getting fans back in the stadium safely and fairly, progressing the rail seating trial to win over the council and take it forward and to continue to reform ticketing policies and improve everything from ballots to the sanctions charter. The ISLO (independent supporter liaison officer) service that we provide also allows for fans to contact us with concerns from unfair treatment by the club and to ask questions they wish us to raise with the club.
This is all in addition to our place on the Premier League supporters forum within the Football Supporters Association structure, which has led the charge on issues such as the scrapping of PPV games in lockdown and responding to proposals such as a breakaway European Super League.
MUST welcomes all fans to join us as members, in order to have their say and help shape our policies. We will continue to survey all fans but membership is your chance to support your organisation and also provides additional opportunities to get involved as a volunteer and stand for election if you wish to contribute directly to policy formation.
Supporters can join as Lite (free), Match Going (£5) or Full Members (£15) here: www.imust.org.uk