Man United begin their Champions League campaign tonight when they host Azerbaijani side Sabah FK at Old Trafford
Manchester United's shirts will look different in the Champions League this season
Manchester United's shirts will look different in the Champions League this season(Image: Manchester United)
View 2 Images
Manchester United have confirmed their back of shirt sponsor for tonight's Champions League opener against Sabah FK. During pre-season, United were sponsored by Microsoft Surface, but since the Premier League returned last month, that sponsorship has been removed and not been replaced.
However, United have confirmed that tonight's shirt will feature the 'Manchester United Foundation' logo on the back. Throughout the men's Champions League campaign, the charity shall be emblazoned on the back of the Reds' kits. Beginning in 2007, the foundation works with over 30,000 young people each year, providing educational and community engagement programmes for the local area.
On the sponsorship deal, the Manchester United Foundation's CEO Ashley Hackett said: "This is a wonderful opportunity for us, offering unparalleled exposure on one of football’s biggest stages during Manchester United's famous European nights. We’re incredibly proud of the vital work we do to support young people from communities across Greater Manchester, where our impact is genuinely life changing.
"Proceeds generated from this initiative will be instrumental in helping us to continue to deliver our programmes that make a huge difference to those we work with. On behalf of everyone at the Foundation, I'd like to thank the club for this fantastic support."
The move comes after United confirmed that SumUp will be their sleeve sponsor, earlier this week. The multi-million pound deal replaces DXC Technology whose agreement with United ended in the summer.
United's European adventure begins this evening when they take on Azerbaijani side Sabah. For the Reds, this marks their return to Europe's biggest stage since the 2023/24 season. That campaign saw United finish bottom of their group. In his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Michael Carrick underlined the importance of performing in this competition.
Marcus Rashford and Patrick Dorgu were among the Manchester United players who met with some of the young people helped by the Manchester United Foundation
Marcus Rashford and Patrick Dorgu were among the Manchester United players who met with some of the young people helped by the Manchester United Foundation
View 2 Images
"It means an awful lot," he said. "It's challenging yourself against the elite and the very best and I've said it before I think it's over a long, long, long period of time this football club's been used to challenging with the best and being the best and it's not something that you can take for granted of what it takes to be there and what it takes to stay there. And we've missed out on it for a number of years and now we're back, so I think it means a lot.
"It's where we want to be every single year and it's where we should expect to be without being ahead of ourselves. It's what we have to push for, it's the standards that we want to set and it's up to us to be able to do that.
"I think we've made huge steps over the last few months or a year or so to make it in and finish the league really strong to be in this position and now it's about what's next and pushing into the next chapter, if you like, the next phase, the next evolution of the team and the squad. This is certainly where we want to be and it's up to us now to make sure we stay here."