Man City fans unveil staggering figure raised for foodbank by boycott of Community Shield clash with Arsenal

Manchester City fans have raised over £9,000 for a local food bank as fans boycott attending the Community Shield match against Arsenal next month.

The MCFC Fans Foodbank Support group confirmed on Tuesday that donations had exceeded the £9,000 mark with profits going to Manchester Central Foodbank.

Nearly 400 fans have put money towards the cause led by the 1894 supporters group who are demanding that the FA stop broadcasting calling the shots on fixture times and creating nightmare trips across the country for travelling supporters.

The foodbank is holding an alternate screening of the Community Shield at the famous Manchester venue Band on the Wall as they encourage fans to donate the price of their ticket to the foodbank instead.

In a statement sent to The Football Supporters’ Association, the fans wrote: “Fan power ended the Super League, it stops price increases, it brought in £30 capped away tickets in the Premiership, it stopped ID cards, it brought in safestanding. Fans have more power than they think if only they realised it!

“Broadcasters moving the kick-off times is one of the current issues affecting everyone. Fan pressure has seen the ridiculous decision to play the Community Shield at 5:30 pm on a Sunday evening to 4 pm but for Manchester City supporters who have been to Wembley many times in recent seasons, 3 pm is a fair request to the authorities to allow more people to travel back at a sensible time.

“Many are still boycotting the game. A hastily put-out statement from the FA said that 4 pm was agreed after consulting the police, the local council and the broadcaster. The most important stakeholder was not consulted - the fans.”

One Manchester City fan who has famously only missed one match in 30 years, Moscow away when supporters were banned, is joining the boycott.

Explaining his reasoning on social media, Sean Riley labelled the decision on the timing of the match an ‘appalling decision’. He added: “They simply expect fans to pay over their hard-earned money again (in our case third trip in five months) not knowing if enough trains will be going back and fans forced to travel by coach or car.

“1894 canvassed a sizeable number of fans to gauge the mood & won overwhelming support to boycott the match but equally for those who do still plan to attend, we do so knowing we travel with the good wishes of our fellow fans & equally we fully respect their decision not to attend.

“Enough is Enough. The FA have moved it away from Wembley before and Arsenal, who are only competing in the match by invitation, have a convenient match on their doorstep whilst we’re expected to make a 400-mile round trip and get home at midnight or later.

“An appalling decision and what’s more the FA know it, but pandering to the whims of television takes preference over the welfare of thousands of supporters of one of the two teams and currently the best side in England and in Europe.”

The 1894 also spoke about the location of the Community Shield in their statement with thousands more fans attending matches such as this and FA Cup finals than a normal away day.

The group’s letter stated: “We play league games at Newcastle, at Southampton and in London with evening kick-offs, but there’s usually only 3,000 away fans expected to travel.

“The Community Shield allocation is 10 times that amount. Wembley is a great iconic venue but there are challenges getting to and from there so we call on ITV and the FA to help our fans in particular by offering an earlier kick-off which allows families to attend.

“This is a test for fan power. It’s hard to sacrifice watching your team. However, it is an opportunity to make a statement. It’s not the FA Cup Final, it’s not the Champions League final. It is a game in the scheme of things where fans, if they are not valued can choose to walk away from attending.”