Manchester United are set to cut funding to their charitable arm, the Manchester United Foundation.
The Foundation “uses football to engage and inspire young people to build a better life for themselves and unite the communities in which they live” and has been operating since 2007.
With United struggling to cope with PSR restrictions and in huge transfer debt, Ineos have implemented a range of controversial cost-cutting measures.
These include hiking up the price of match day tickets, laying off 250 members of staff, cutting funding to the Association of Former Manchester United Players and a disabled fans’ group.
What’s more, Ineos have seemingly gone after former members of staff by scrapping Sir Alex Ferguson’s ambassador role and cutting David Gill’s salary from the club.
The latest victim is the Foundation as Sky News report that, “Manchester United Football Club is to cut the funding it provides to its charitable arm as part of a purge of costs being overseen by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, its newest billionaire shareholder.”
From 2025 the organization can expect to lose the benefits it received last year, which are believed to be close £1 million.
A source close to the club claimed that “all areas of club expenditure are being reviewed due to ongoing losses” but that there will still be “significant support” for the Foundation.
In response to the proposed cuts, a spokesman for the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) said, “The prospect of cuts to the charitable Foundation are another depressing example of the wrong priorities at United, cutting back on support to the community it purports to serve.”
The spokesperson also commented that the “negative atmosphere” being fostered through all of these cuts is “feeding” its way onto the pitch, as the club sit 14th in the Premier League table.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos are certainly playing a dangerous game as they were welcomed with open arms by most a year ago but have become deeply unpopular lately.
Whilst fans understand the terrible economic situation the Glazers have left the club in, Ineos will receive little sympathy by cruelly going after charities and staff members while overpaying a horde of underperforming footballers.
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Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
