June 27 – The Manchester United women’s team will be moved into portable buildings at the club’s Carrington training complex this season to allow the men’s squad to use the women’s team facilities, while the men’s indoor facilities undergo a £50m renovation.
A £10 million state‑of‑the‑art women’s and academy building opened on the Carrington site last summer.
It is understood that portable buildings will accommodate daily-use areas such as changing rooms, team meeting rooms, office spaces, and communal areas for the women’s players and staff. However, they will continue to use the same pitches and canteen as before – the preferred option over moving to an entirely different site.
Reports indicate that the news of moving to portable buildings has disappointed some members of the women’s squad and staff, especially since the top-notch women’s facility seemed to enhance their training experience and performance last season.
Renovation work began on Monday on the £50 million investment to modernise the men’s first-team building at Carrington, with the club announcing on June 14 that all areas of the men’s building were “being refurbished to deliver a world-class football facility with a positive culture to support future success”.
United’s co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has admitted that focusing on the men’s side meant he had not yet gone into detail on the women’s team.
“We’ve been pretty much focused on how do we resolve the first-team issues, in that environment, and that’s been pretty full-time for the first six months,” he said. Ratcliffe’s characterisation of the men’s team as “the first team” has faced unsurprising criticism.
On top of this controversy, the squad are also set to lose star players such as Katie Zelem and Mary Earps to due contract issues, with the England keeper set for a move to PSG this summer.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1732331157labto1732331157ofdlr1732331157owedi1732331157sni@g1732331157niwe.1732331157yrrah1732331157