‘We reflect the city we live in’ | Meet the New York Reds Man Utd supporters’ club

Thankfully, the US’s continuing embrace of football – and the looming North American World Cup in 2026 – mean that scenario is unlikely nowadays. There’s been a huge growth in official United supporters’ clubs in the States during the last decade, and the New York branch registered with the club in 2018/19.

 

“It’s an absolute mix of everyone,” Dermott says. “It really reflects the city we’re based in, which is such a diverse place. On the board there’s myself, Paul – a native New Yorker, born and bred – and Arnab, who was born in India, grew up in Australia and then moved here when he was 14. 

 

“You meet people from different walks of life, from different places, and the common thing that brings us all together is United. For the bigger matches we’ll get easily 300 or 400 in the pub. We’re in one pub called Smithfield Hall in Chelsea in Manhattan. The owners are also United fans; a couple of Irish lads.

 

“For a Saturday 3pm kick-off, it’s 10am here. So I’m getting up at about eight. I’ll get ready, leave about nine-ish, get the subway in, get to the pub about half-nine, quarter to 10. Most people have already been there for a while. It’s definitely pints [we’ll be drinking], not coffees and toast! We do have a load of English, a load of Irish. Even the Americans have bought into that culture. Sometimes we’re out all day, going home at night. It’s a full shift!”