Cork City FC, one of our Erasmus + project partners, visited FC United of Manchester earlier this month as part of their exchange schedule.
Co-financed by the European Commission and Uefa, the project aims to build connections between member-run clubs and national supporters’ organisations across Europe, as well as provide three distinct training workshops over a two-year period (Good Governance, Sustainable Finance and Member & Volunteer Engagement).
Pat Lyons, Cork City FC chairman, John Kennedy, club vice-chairman, and Mike Derham, FORAS secretary, travelled to Broadhurst Park to return the visit FC United’s Community and Education Manager, Andy Cheshire, paid to Leeside last October.
The trio was joined on the visit by SD Europe’s Niamh O’Mahony, and were greeted at the ground by board member Vinny Thompson – who gave the group a tour of ground and its impressive facilities.
The wall of FC United bar
Community work, facility management, day-to-day operations, fundraising and governance structures were chief topics of discussion, and the delegation later met with FC United CEO Damian Chadwick as well as board members Adrian Seddon and Lawrence Gill.
FC United hosted SV Austria Salzurg, a fan-owned club from Austria, in an international friendly the same weekend and also had a five-day craft beer festival running alongside the game.
The clubs were also joined by the secretary of the Bath City FC Supporters Society and Supporters Direct board member, Oliver Holtaway, as well as HFC Falke e.V. supporters including chairperson Tamara Dwenger among others.
Brondby IF SLO Lasse Bauer with CCFC board member Mike Derham
FC United recorded a comfortable 3-0 win over their counterparts on the night with a decent crowd packing into the ground’s bars and giving a real insight into what the club means to its local community and support alike.
The weekend culminated in a visit to the National Football Museum in Manchester city centre, and you can hear more details by tuning into this Supporters Direct Weekly podcast.
Next up, Cork City FC are due to welcome representatives from both Schalke 04 and Malmö FF to Ireland around their League game against Derry City in early April.
For further information on the Clubs and Supporters for Better Governance in Football project, see the Our Project page or drop us a line.
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