Based in northwest England, the Manchester United soccer club exhibits a long history as one of the continent’s premiere professional football teams. As “The Most Popular Football Team in the World”, Manchester United, nicknamed “The Red Devils”, boasts the largest average game attendance in Europe among millions of worldwide fans, including Nigerian Tunde Folawiyo.

Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the football club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902. The vibrant Manchester United club crest is derived from the Manchester City Council coat of arms. Aside from game losses over the years, Manchester United suffered a loss of immense magnitude when a plane carrying the team crashed on take-off in Munich en route home from a European Cup game in February of 1958. Twenty-three people died, including eight Manchester United players. Manchester United has accomplished a great deal since that fateful day, winning many honours including a record 20 League titles, four League Cups, 11 FA Cups, and a record 20 FA Community Shields. With three European Cups also under their belt, Manchester United won a continental treble, a brilliant accomplishment for an English football club.

In 2012, Forbes ranked Manchester United first on the list of the ten most valuable team brands in the world with an estimated value of 2.3 billion. Manchester United became the first sports team in history to be valued at an incredible $3 billion in 2013. Although the club has since dropped to the number two spot in the annual ranking, Manchester United remains one of the most successful franchises in the history of sports. With their outstanding success came the birth of the Manchester United Foundation, a charity whose goal is to educate, motivate and inspire young people. Assisting disadvantage areas within Manchester, the foundation continues to make an impact in the lives of England’s youth.

Manchester United paved the way for many English football teams, including their win of the European Cup while under the management of Matt Busby in 1968. Other respected Manchester United managers include Alex Ferguson, who won 28 major honours during a career spanning over 25 years, before announcing his retirement. He remains one of the most respected managers in the history of football. Manchester United’s many loyal fans such as Tunde Folawiyo, will undoubtedly remember Ferguson for his incredible passion for the sport.