Manchester United WSL team pay tribute to Poppy Atkinson at Anfield (Image: Canva)
Manchester United WSL team pay tribute to Poppy Atkinson at Anfield (Image: Canva)
MANCHESTER United Women paid tribute to Poppy Atkinson in last night’s Barclays Women’s Super League match at Anfield.
Poppy, a 10-year-old Manchester United fan, was killed when a car crashed on to the sports pitch at Kendal Rugby Union Football Club on Shap Road on Wednesday March 5.
Her family described her as a ‘beautiful’ girl who loved football and idolised the likes of Ella Toone, Georgia Stanway, Mainoo and Messi.
She harboured dreams of playing for Manchester United and her family said they had ‘no doubt she would achieve her goal’.
Before the game against Liverpool, a space was dedicated to Poppy on the club’s social media graphic line-up, with Atkinson replacing the name of her hero, Toone, next to the number seven in the listed XI.
We dedicated a space on our starting XI graphic to the late Poppy Atkinson ❤️@EllaToone99, Poppy's hero, starts for the Reds at Anfield ✅#MUWomen || #WSL https://t.co/ZcCl0g9Xr9 pic.twitter.com/Lx91nK95V8
— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) March 14, 2025
A seat in the away dugout was also reserved to Poppy throughout the match with her name embroidered on the back of the shirt.
A special place on our bench, and in our hearts ❤️ pic.twitter.com/mMqSNfRuH0
— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) March 14, 2025
In front of 15,596 fans, a minute’s silence prior to kick-off was then observed whilst both teams also wore black armbands in memory of Poppy.
Poppies are always red ❤️ pic.twitter.com/gAuihpBlDC
— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) March 14, 2025
The series of tributes was proposed by United head coach Marc Skinner, embraced by his players and led by Toone.
A fundraiser set up by the youngster's uncles has since raised more than £42,000 to cover the costs of a memorial and help grassroots football teams across the UK.
You can donate here.