Rebels on the road to Europe

Stuart Brennan

May 11, 2006

FC UNITED play their first international fixture on Friday night against the world's biggest non-league club.

The Rebels, fresh from securing the North West Counties second division title in their first season, will face Lokomotive Leipzig in a friendly match in Germany.

FC are believed to be the world's third-biggest non-league club, behind Loko and Conference side Exeter City, after averaging 3,059 at Gigg Lane this season.

Loko hold the world record attendance for a non-league game, with 12,421 watching them play Eintracht Grossdeuben in October 2004, in the 11th tier of German football.

As recently as 1987 they lost a European Cup winners' Cup final to a Marco van Basten goal for Ajax, only for the club to go bankrupt in 2004 and be resurrected by supporters who had to begin again at the bottom of the German football ladder.

Loko fans have already snapped up more than 5,000 tickets for the match, and as many as 800 FC United supporters are expected to make the trip across.

| Submit Comments | Comments (9) |

Showing comments 1 to 9 and replies | View All

Dash Walny, Manchester via Poland (11/05/2006 at 17:53)

Why has not FC United of Bury acquired any Cuban nationals to play for their club yet? They already have the flags.

Stuart Webb, Southend On Sea (11/05/2006 at 20:06)

My best wishes to FCUM on their maiden voyage into European waters.
I'm sure all the supporters will have a rewarding and memorable experience.

timmy donn, prestwich (12/05/2006 at 14:35)

pub team who set out to fleece the fans do,es any one check ther books.oops should,nt say that

Robert H Mager, Chorlton (12/05/2006 at 17:21)

FC is just a drinking club to me saying that I do offer them compassion and the bread from my table

Big United are my heart and Lungs

my focus

FC*UM, Manchester (12/05/2006 at 19:34)

Ha... FC United are in Europe, Manchester United are not!

Tommy, Tampa (14/05/2006 at 00:43)

Hey Stuart Brennan, I have it on good authority that the Glazers will be at the Fan Fest here in Tampa on June 3rd at Raymond James stadium. Why don't you come confront him while he is sitting next to a 25 stone lineman??

Blue moon over, Clayton (15/05/2006 at 16:50)

Well done the true reds of Manchester. I look forward to the day when we play Fc United. Lets hope we meet in the cups in a real Manchester derby. Keep it up lads.

Neil Webb's Post Bag, A layby on the A6 (16/05/2006 at 10:07)

Bless you Tommy. Giving yourself away again. A real Yank would have given the line backers weight in pounds (350), they never deal in stones. They'd also know that the average linebacker wouldn't understand Stuart Brenan any way. Keep plugging away kiddo there's no such thing as bad publicity and you're doing more work to get the FC United name heard as an army of volunteers with leaflets ever could.

How Bizarre, Barchester (18/05/2006 at 14:10)

How appropriate that FC should be playing a team called loco. You just cant keep those train spotters away from a good glory moment. Choo choo.

()

Report

Non-league