Tributes paid to Poppy Atkinson at Anfield

Tributes paid to Poppy Atkinson at Anfield

A series of touching tributes were paid in honour of young Manchester United fan Poppy Atkinson at Friday night’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Anfield.

The 10-year-old supporter, who was tragically killed when she was struck by a car while attending a football training session in Cumbria earlier this month, harboured dreams of playing for United one day and was remembered as her childhood club faced Liverpool on Merseyside.

Before the game, a space was dedicated to Poppy on the social-media graphic announcing our line-up, with Atkinson replacing the name of her hero, Ella Toone, next to the number seven in our listed XI.

We dedicated a space on our starting XI graphic to the late Poppy Atkinson ❤️@EllaToone99, Poppy’s hero, starts for the Reds at Anfield ✅#MUWomen || #WSL https://t.co/ZcCl0g9Xr9 pic.twitter.com/Lx91nK95V8

— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) March 14, 2025

In the meantime, a seat in the away dugout was devoted to the youngster, embellished with a shirt that had her name on the back, which remained in place throughout the evening.

A minute’s silence was also observed prior to kick-off at Anfield while both teams wore black armbands for the match, in Poppy’s memory.

The series of tributes was proposed by United head coach Marc Skinner, embraced by his players and led by Toone.

The Reds had previously paid homage to Poppy at last weekend’s FA Cup tie against Sunderland, the team’s first game following her passing, which included our players holding up a shirt with the 10-year-old’s name on it after our opening goal in the 3-1 win.

A fundraiser set up by the youngster’s uncles, which you can donate to here, has since raised more than £41,000 to cover the costs of a memorial and help grassroots football teams across the UK.

Everyone at United continues to send our condolences, love and support to Poppy’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.

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