Eric Cantona joins the new “Sign for United” campaign

The Manchester United Supports Trust (MUST) hope that when King Eric speaks, people will listen, especially with their new “Sign for United” campaign launching today.

The “Sign for United” campaign was created after the controversial demise of the Super League and encourages United fans to register their commitment to become a supporter shareholder in the club as part of a new fan share ownership scheme which has been promised by the current owners in response to demands from MUST.

The aim of Sign for United is to reach out to United’s global fanbase to ensure the Glazers make good on their promise to “create the biggest fans ownership scheme in world sport”, as Joel Glazer stated earlier this month (via ESPN).

MUST has been around since the Glazer family took ownership of Manchester United but unlike with other campaigns, they never had the support of United legend, Eric Cantona.

“Yes, my friends, I have signed for United again” proclaims the new advertisement for the campaign featuring Cantona who announced publicly his support for the fan ownership scheme.

“Joel Glazer promised to create the biggest supporters share scheme in sport – now is the time to make good on that promise.”

MUST chief executive Duncan Drasdo said: “Once again Eric Cantona is leading the attack for United and we as United fans need to follow his example - and join the Sign for United campaign. No-one loves the club more than we do so fans should be at the heart of ownership. This is our chance to start that change.”

Last week, MUST made the case for the government to require football club owners to allow fans to buy shares in their clubs as part of a “Football Right to Buy” scheme.

Under the proposals made, club owners would be required to create new shares each year, to be sold to club supporters, allowing fans to grow a meaningful shareholding over time.

Duncan Drasdo said: “A football club is a cultural and community asset, and the best people to protect these assets for the long-term are the supporters. Under our ‘Football Right to Buy’ scheme, fans would have an opportunity to grow a meaningful ownership stake over time, allowing them to invest in the clubs they love.”

Fans can register their support for the “Sign for United” campaign by visiting the dedicated page, https://www.signforunited.org