FC United of Manchester has been named among The Big Issue’s Changemakers of 2026 in recognition of the club’s work promoting inclusion and community engagement.
Each year, the street newspaper highlights 100 individuals and organisations making a positive difference in their communities across the UK.
One of them is the fan-owned club based in Moston, which has built a reputation for putting community at the heart of the club since being founded in 2005.
Paul Hurst, Director of FC United, said the recognition reflects the club’s long-standing focus on building a welcoming and inclusive environment for supporters and the wider community.
“Our message has always been that we are not just a football club who plays matches on a Saturday and disappears,” Hurst said. “The whole point of having our ground is that it’s a seven-day-a-week facility for the community.”
The stadium hosts community initiatives including youth football programmes, holiday activity camps for local children and spaces used by community groups. The club also ran initiatives such as clothing collections for charities and a food hub during the Covid-19 pandemic to support people in need across Greater Manchester.
Looking back to when the club was founded in 2005 by a group of Manchester United supporters who were opposed to American businessman Malcolm Glazer’s famous takeover of the club, Hurst thinks it raises a question of what a football club should be.
“Is it just a vessel for a rich owner to make money from TV deals and whatever else? Or is it a community asset that means a huge amount to people and plays a big part in their lives?” Hurst added.
“Whether it’s us with two and a half thousand members, Manchester United with millions of fans worldwide, or even a Sunday League club, football is a huge part of people’s lives no matter the size of the club.
“Football clubs can and should be a force for good.”
Hurst believes the recognition of their work also reflects a growing interest in community-focused football clubs.
“Non-league football has seen a bit of a boom in attendance and interest because people are looking for something different,” he said.
He added that some supporters have become increasingly disconnected from elite football, with rising costs and a changing matchday experience pushing fans towards smaller, locally rooted clubs.
“It’s about more than what happens on the pitch for 90 minutes every Saturday,” Hurst said. “It comes down to that sense of community you can feel at this level of football.”
That sense of community is reflected in the number of people involved in running the club.
“We have around 200 volunteers who regularly help out at FC United,” Hurst said. “Some of them aren’t even that interested in football – they just like the idea of the club being part of their community and want to give something back.
“To me that’s actually quite moving. Football has always been central to my life, so it’s natural for me to stay and watch the game.
“But seeing someone who cares enough about a community organisation to help out even though they’re not interested in the football itself – that says a lot about what the club means to people.”
For the fan-owned club, the award is further recognition of a model built around community as much as football.