KOCHI: There are fans for Liverpoorl Arsenal and Chelsea. On the streets, their jerseys sell rapidly, thanks to the avid supporters of the Premier League in England. However, the king of the clubs, as far as fan support is concerned, is Manchester United.
There is a Manchester United Supporters Club Kerala (MUSCK) that is ruling in the city. Set up in December, 2014, club chairman Sadaquath K K says, “It is passion that drove people like me to start the club.” In fact, unlike the other clubs, which shows only important matches, MUSCK screens every match.
However, Vinay Karthik, a die-hard United fan, who has watched screenings in other cities, says, “Though the screenings in Delhi attract louder fans, Kochi has the most committed and passionate followers.”
Vimal Mohan, committee member says, “We have not missed a single screening in over three seasons, regardless of the match timings.”
There are over 50 registered members, but many unregistered ones come to see the matches.
However, with the increase in attendance, the screening has been moved to bigger cafes like Chai Cofi in Kaloor.
Incidentally, since Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world, they also have a huge fan base in several countries. This is obvious when the team travels abroad during the non-footballing season (June to August) to play exhibition matches; from the USA to Singapore to Australia, the stadiums are always sold out. In 2014, when the Red Devils faced Real Madrid at Michigan, USA, 1.9 lakh people watched the match, which was a record.
Even in India, where the club has never visited, there are clubs in cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Goa, Hyderabad and New Delhi. After England, India has the most Manchester United fan clubs in the world. MUSCK was the third club to be accredited by the club, after Mumbai and Bangalore.