Football and its communities: the celebration of Manchester United FC’s Ability Suite

Abstract

Manchester United FC (MUFC), in collaboration with their disabled supporters’ organization MUDSA (Manchester United Disabled Supporters Association), has demonstrated a long-term organizational commitment and contribution to disability issues and promoting accessibility. The purpose of this ‘case study’ is to make theoretical sense of the origin, implementation and evaluation of an innovative and unconventional facility and service, the Ability Suite and analyse its effects on enhancing the customer service and experience for supporters with disabilities at MUFC on match and non-match days, as well as to the Manchester community over the period 2003–2013. Despite ad hoc improvements by some clubs, the Ability Suite remains a unique facility and service for supporters with disabilities which provides MUFC with a competitive advantage over most clubs within the main leagues in Europe. Findings show that the Ability Suite is an essential part of the club’s commitment to inclusivity and accessibility that fully integrates accessibility in its daily operations and interactions with fans. This raises issues of leadership, shared vision and Corporate Social Responsibility of all members of MUFC from middle and senior management to all the daily operational aspects of MUDSA as key factors to the effective implementation of this unique facility and service. The case concludes by forecasting how the Ability Suite will continue to serve the needs of disabled supporters in the near future and exploring how key findings from this case might be transferable to other clubs.

Acknowledgements

This study is part of the research project titled ‘Estudio Comparativo de las Funciones y Competencias del Experto en Accesibilidad Universal en Instalaciones y Eventos Deportivos: Perspectiva Norteamericana y Europea’ (Comparative Study of the Role and Competencies of the Disability Liaison Office on Sport Facilities and Events: North American and European Perspective) led by Dr. Juan L. Paramio-Salcines, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid with Dr. John Grady, University of South Carolina and funded by the Spanish Bank, Banco de Santander (2ª Convocatoria de Proyectos de Cooperación Interuniversitaria UAM-Banco de Santander con EEUU, 2013–2014).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Evidence of this issue in top organizations is provided by Groysberg and Connolly, ‘Twenty-four CEOs on Creating Diverse and Inclusive Organizations’. See also Fischer and Rohde, ‘Management Resistance to Innovation’; Johnson and Scholes, Exploring Corporate Strategy; and Ferlie et al., ‘The Nonspread of Innovations: The Mediating Role of Professionals’.

2. See more details at MUDSA, Celebrating 10 years of the Ability Suite 2003–2013; MUDSA, Members’ Handbook Summer 2014; and Downs, Paramio-Salcines, and Grady, ‘Celebrating 10 years of Manchester United´s Ability Suite: From Organizational Buy-In to Premium Patron Services’.

3. Paramio-Salcines, Grady, and Downs, ‘Growing the Football Game: The Increasing Economic and Social Relevance of Older Fans and those with Disabilities in the European Football Industry’; Kitchin, ‘Planning and Managing the Stadium Experience’.

4. For a study that focuses on how to plan and manage the match-day experience of supporters with disabilities at Arsenal’s Emirates stadium, see Kitchin, ‘Planning and Managing the Stadium Experience’. See also Hudson and Hudson, Customer Service for Hospitality and Tourism.

5. Parnell and Richardson, ‘Introduction’, 823.

6. Downs and Paramio-Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as part of their CSR Policies’; Paramio-Salcines, Grady, and Downs, ‘Growing the Football Game: The Increasing Economic and Social Relevance of Older Fans and those with Disabilities in the European Football Industry’.

7. See more details of the impact and implications of this programme on children and adults with disabilities on different Manchester communities at Manchester United Foundation. A Season Review. Taking Manchester United to the Heart of the Community. Impact Report 2012/13; Manchester United Disabled Supporters Association (MUDSA, Members’ Handbook Summer 2014).

8. See more details of the organization of the Ability Suite at MUDSA, Celebrating 10 years of the Ability Suite 2003–2013. Also Mark Metcalf, who is a football writer and was involved in the production of the above document, wrote a post Suite Dreams-Facilities for Disabled Fans at Old Trafford, which explained what this facility and service, means for all fans with disabilities. The reader can find more comments on MUFC and MUDSA’s facilities at Level Playing Field. ‘Manchester United’.

9. This quote is taken from MUDSA, Celebrating 10 years of the Ability Suite 2003–2013, 10.

10. This quote is also taken from MUDSA, Celebrating 10 years of the Ability Suite 2003–2013, 17.

11. As Elberse noted, it took Ferguson as a manager of MUFC four years to win the first trophy the Football Association Cup on 12 May 1990 and another three years to win the Premier League title on 2 May 1993. He left MUFC on May 2013 leaving behind a huge and lasting legacy on the club after winning 13 English Premier League titles along with 25 other domestic and international trophies.

12. See more details of the financial performance of the club at 2003 on Perry, ‘Manchester United, Brand of Hope and Glory’. At the time of writing, Deloitte’s study ‘Commercial Breaks’ stressed that Manchester United is the second largest club in Europe as measured by financial turnover with €518 m. for the 2013/2014 season.

13. Downs and Paramio-Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as Part of their CSR Policies’.

14. The analysis of Manchester United FC has been noted by a number of academics and practitioners, but particularly see Mellor, ‘The Genesis of Manchester United as a National and International “Super-Club”, 1958–68’; Andrews, Manchester United. A Thematic Study; Szymanski, ‘Why Manchester United is so Successful’; Johnson and Scholes, Exploring Corporate Strategy; Perry, ‘Manchester United, Brand of Hope and Glory’; Brown,‘‘Not for Sale’? The Destruction and Reformation of Football Communities in the Glazer Takeover of Manchester United’ explored the background, fan culture and opposition of club’s fans to the corporate takeover of the club by the Glazer’s family or Deloitte, ‘Commercial Breaks Football Money League’. In terms of fan support, Mellor suggested that level of national and global support of Manchester United that the club gained in the 1960s linked to their financial strength have been critical to understand their present recognition. On this issue, a global football survey carried out by market research agency, Kantar, reported that 659 million people follow Manchester United, regarded as the world’s most popular club worldwide. As part of their global reach, 71 million are in America, 90 million are in Europe, 173 million are in Africa and the Middle East and finally 325 million are in Asia.

15. See a much detail analysis of the managerial implications on Sir Alex Ferguson’s case on Elberse, ‘Ferguson’s Formula’.

16. Downs and Paramio-Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as Part of their CSR Policies’.

17. Only a Premier League club like Arsenal has tried to replicate the concept of the Ability Suite by offering a disabled supporter’s lounge in the Learning Centre adjacent to the Emirates stadium before a match. See http://www.arsenal.com/news/community-news/arsenal-fc-celebrates-equality-and-diversity. Similarly, a League One club like Wolverhampton Wanderers officially opened a new Disabled Lounge on 31 July 2013 at their Molineux stadium.

18. With regard to the influence of offering free tickets on the experience of fans with disabilities, according to Phil Downs, ‘any influence relating to the “complimentary” tickets would be negligible in impact because the demand will always be there whether the club charge or not’. It is also worth noting that as the Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFÉ) stated, there is a lack of uniformity in the existing management systems for SwD when attending large sporting events across Europe. In the case of Manchester United and as part of their long-term commitment to their SwD there is a clear policy with respect to the ticketing management policy for their own SwD as well as for visiting supporters (see more details at ‘Disabled Supporters’ Information Booklet 2013/14’).

19. This comment was sent by a Manchester City fan to MUDSA by email after the match between Manchester United FC and Manchester City, held on Tuesday 25 March 2014.

20. For example, see Kitchin, ‘Planning and Managing the Stadium Experience’.

21. See, for example, Downs and Paramio-Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as part of their CSR Policies’; Kitchin, ‘Planning and Managing the Stadium Experience’; Paramio-Salcines and Kitchin, ‘Institutional Perspectives on the Implementation of Disability Legislation and Services for Spectators with Disabilities in European Professional Football’; Paramio, Campos, and Buraimo, ‘Promoting Accessibility for Fans with Disabilities to European Stadia and Arenas: An Holistic Journey Sequence Approach’; and Paramio-Salcines, Grady, and Downs, ‘Growing the Football Game: The Increasing Economic and Social Relevance of Older Fans and those with Disabilities in the European Football Industry’.

22. See, for example, a much more detailed discussion of different legislations on disability and accessibility in countries including Australia, the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Spain and their impact on the stadium experience for those people with disabilities when attending all types of events on Grady and Paramio-Salcines, ‘Global Disability Laws and their Impact on the Stadium Experience’; Grady and James, ‘Understanding the Needs of Spectators with Disabilities Attending Sporting Events’.

23. For a much detailed review of the existing level of accessibility at facilities and services provided by the main football stadia clubs in England, Germany and Spain, see Paramio, Campos, and Buraimo, ‘Promoting Accessibility for Fans with Disabilities to European Stadia and Arenas: An Holistic Journey Sequence Approach’.

24. For a fuller discussion of the approach of a club like Arsenal to their supporters with disabilities in their new Emirates stadium, see Kitchin, ‘Planning and Managing the Stadium Experience’.

25. Paramio-Salcines, Grady, and Downs, ‘Growing the Football Game: The Increasing Economic and Social Relevance of Older Fans and those with Disabilities in the European football Industry’.

26. See Grady, ‘Accessibility doesn’t Happen by Itself: An Interview with Betty Siegel, J.D., Director of The Kennedy Center Accessibility Program’ for a detailed analysis of how Betty Siegel, the Director of one of the most relevant cultural art centres, the Kennedy Center, in the United States has incorporated the accessibility to their business operations. Grady and Ohlin, ‘Equal Access to Hospitality Services for Guests with Mobility Impairments under the Americans with Disabilities Act: Implications for the Hospitality Industry’; Hudson and Hudson, Customer Service for Hospitality and Tourism for a much detail analysis of how to provide quality service in hospitality and tourism services.

27. For a review of the influence of top and middle managers on the implementation of strategies in organizations, see Fischer and Rohde, ‘Management Resistance to Innovation’; Oke, ‘Barriers to Innovation Management in Service Companies’; Johnson and Scholes, Exploring Corporate Strategy; and Ferlie et al., ‘The Nonspread of Innovations: The Mediating Role of Professionals’.

28. See Downs and Paramio Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as part of their CSR Policies’; Paramio-Salcines, Grady, and Downs, ‘Growing the Football Game: The Increasing Economic and Social Relevance of Older Fans and those with Disabilities in the European Football Industry’.

29. Scott-Parker and Zadek, ‘Managing Diversity: A Key Factor in Improving Efficiency, Productivity, and Overall Business Success’.

30. Rice, ‘Universal Management: A Proposal to Change the Direction of Accessibility Management in the Australian Tourism Industry to create Benefits for all Australians and Visitors to Australia’; Patterson, Darcy, and Mönninghoff, ‘Attitudes and Experiences of Tourism Operators in Northern Australia towards People with Disabilities’.

31. Paramio-Salcines, Grady, and Downs, ‘Growing the Football Game: The Increasing Economic and Social Relevance of Older Fans and those with Disabilities in the European Football Industry’.

32. Authors like Washington and Patterson call for more frequent contributions between institutional theory and sport management studies. The reader can find more studies on the use of this theoretical framework on O’Brien and Slack, (analysis of the newly English Rugby Union); Southall et al., (analysis of the 2006 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament); Paramio-Salcines and Kitchin, (analysis of implementation of disability legislation and provision of disability services within the three main professional football leagues and their clubs in Europe).

33. See, for example, Fischer and Rohde, ‘Management Resistance to Innovation’, 11; Oke, ‘Barriers to Innovation Management in Service Companies’; Groysberg and Connolly, ‘Twenty-Four CEOs on Creating Diverse and Inclusive Organizations’; Johnson and Scholes. Exploring Corporate Strategy; and Ferlie et al., ‘The Nonspread of Innovations: The Mediating Role of Professionals’.

34. Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods; Stake, ‘Case Studies’.

35. See Edwards and Skinner, Qualitative Research in Sport Management; Edwards, ‘Reflective Practice in Sport Management’; Stake, ‘Case Studies’; Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods; and Veal and Darcy, Sport Studies and Sport Management. A Practical Guide.

36. There are a plethora of authors that advocate this demanded collaboration between academics and practitioners in all types of organizations, including sports organizations. See, for instance, Bartunek, ‘Academic-Practitioner Collaboration need not Require Joint or Relevant Research: Toward a Relational Scholarship of Integration’; Cohen, ‘The Very Separate Worlds of Academic and Practitioners Publications in Human Resource Management: Reasons for the Divide and Concrete Solutions for Bridging the Gap’; Rynes, ‘Let´s Create a Tipping Point: What Academics and Practitioners can Do, Alone and Together’; Rynes, Giluk, and Brown, ‘The Very Separate Worlds of Academic and Practitioner Publications in Human Resource Management: Implications for Evidence-Based Management’. On the sport management area, some authors imply this collaboration, see Edwards, ‘Reflective Practice in Sport Management’; Costa, ‘The Status and Future of Sport Management: A Delphi Study’; and Edwards and Skinner, Qualitative Research in Sport Management; and Frisby et al., ‘Putting “Participatory” into Participatory Forms of Action Research’.

37. Edwards, ‘Reflective Practice in Sport Management’, 76.

38. At this point, it is important to present to the reader a brief profile of one of the authors who is also one of the most significant practitioners in the area of accessibility at football stadia in England. With almost 40 years of experience of wheelchair user in addition to 20 years of operational expertise at one of the largest stadium, Old Trafford, Phil Downs (Member of the British Empire, MBE, since 2004, for services to disabled people) is the Secretary of the Manchester United Disabled Supporters Association (MUDSA) and has served as the Disability Liaison Officer at Manchester United Football Club since 1989. In this professional role, he is responsible for day-to-day operations regarding accessibility at Old Trafford stadium. Considered a pioneer in the area of providing access for people with disabilities in England, Downs is the former Secretary of the National Association of Disabled Supporters (now Level Playing Field) and was instrumental in drafting England’s ‘Accessible Stadia’ guide. See more details of his contribution to promote disability and accessibility at club level stadia in England and in Europe on Downs and Paramio-Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as part of their CSR Policies’; and Paramio, Campos, and Buraimo, ‘Promoting Accessibility for Fans with Disabilities to European Stadia and Arenas: An Holistic Journey Sequence Approach’.

39. See more details on this approach on Edwards, ‘Reflective Practice in Sport Management’; Edwards and Skinner, Qualitative Research in Sport Management, 154.

40. The reader may find more details on the following documents at MUDSA, ‘For the Club. Phil chats with George Johnstone’; MUDSA, Disability Supporters Information Booklet 2013/2014; MUDSA, Celebrating 10 years of the Ability Suite 2003–2013; MUDSA. Members’ Handbook Summer 2014; Manchester United Foundation. A Season Review. Taking Manchester United to the Heart of the Community. Impact Report 2012/13; and Downs, ‘Joining Forces’.

41. Kay, Foundations of Corporate Success, 8.

42. Fischer and Rohde, ‘Management Resistance to Innovation’, 97. Also Westerbeek and Smith, Business Leadership and the Lessons from Sport emphasize that one of the lessons from sport that could be applied to any business environment is that teamwork is a critical factor for success.

43. Perry, ‘Manchester United, Brand of Hope and Glory’.

44. Downs, ‘Joining Forces’; Paramio, Campos, and Buraimo, ‘Promoting Accessibility for Fans with Disabilities to European Stadia and Arenas: An Holistic Journey Sequence Approach’; and Downs and Paramio-Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as Part of their CSR Policies’.

45. MUDSA, Celebrating 10 years of the Ability Suite 2003–2013, 20.

46. Kay, Foundations of Corporate Success, 8.

47. MUDSA, ‘For the Club. Phil chats with George Johnstone’, 19.

48. Downs and Paramio-Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as part of their CSR Policies’; MUDSA, Celebrating 10 years of the Ability Suite 2003–2013, 20.

49. MUDSA, Celebrating 10 years of the Ability Suite 2003–2013, 23.

50. Downs and Paramio-Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as part of their CSR Policies’, 140.

51. MUDSA, ‘For the Club. Phil chats with George Johnstone’, 20–1.

52. www.mudsa.org.

53. MUDSA, Celebrating 10 years of the Ability Suite 2003–2013, 30.

54. See Phil Downs statement in MUDSA, Celebrating 10 years of the Ability Suite 2003–2013, 7.

55. In the summer 2013, David Gill stepped down from the position of chief executive at Manchester United FC and chairman of Manchester United Foundation and was replaced by this deputy John Shiels.

56. Fischer and Rohde, ‘Management Resistance to Innovation’; Oke, ‘Barriers to Innovation Management in Service Companies’; Johnson and Scholes, Exploring Corporate Strategy.

57. MUDSA, Celebrating 10 years of the Ability Suite 2003–2013, 7.

58. At the time of writing, George Johnstone was retired from his duties at the club level.

59. MUDSA, ‘For the Club. Phil chats with George Johnstone’, 19.

60. Downs and Paramio-Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as part of their CSR Policies’.

61. MUDSA, ‘For the Club. Phil chats with George Johnstone’, 20.

62. As part of their CSR approach, the Premier League itself and football clubs at the Premier League as the case of MUFC are implementing programmes to make a positive social difference to the local communities in which the clubs are located. See Anagnostopoulos, ‘Getting the Tactics Right. Implementing CSR in English Football’.

63. See more details of the impact and implications of this programme on children and adults with disabilities on different local communities at Manchester United Foundation, A Season Review. Taking Manchester United to the Heart of the Community. Impact Report 2012/13; MUDSA, Members’ Handbook Summer 2014.

64. Paramio, Campos, and Buraimo, ‘Promoting Accessibility for Fans with Disabilities to European Stadia and Arenas: An Holistic Journey Sequence Approach’, 371.

65. MUDSA, Celebrating 10 years of the Ability Suite 2003–2013, 19.