Manchester United Announces Pre-Season Tour in USA

MANCHESTER, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

MANU Manchester United has today announced that its 2014 Tour, presented by Aon, will take place in the United States. The team will visit a number of destinations in the country as they look to prepare for the 2014/15 season.

This will be the team's first visit to North America following two successful back-to-back tours in 2010 and 2011.

Full details of Tour 2014 will be announced in the coming weeks.

Manchester United Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold, said: “I'm delighted to announce that the team will be returning to the USA for our 2014 Tour, presented by Aon.

“Since the Club's last visit in 2011, the appeal of football in America has grown rapidly. NBC reported that this season's Barclays Premier League opening weekend saw the average viewership rise by 78% from the 2012/13 season*, with Manchester United's match against Swansea being the most-watched game.”

“Manchester United has over eight million followers in the United States and the 2014 Tour presents an exciting opportunity for these fans to get up close to the club they love.”

Aon is the Presenting Partner of Manchester United's 2014 Tour, offering its expertise in risk management, insurance, reinsurance brokerage and human resources solutions.

Greg Case, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aon, said, “We are delighted that our partner Manchester United will be playing in the US for the Club's Tour 2014, presented by Aon. The U.S. market is very important for Manchester United and Aon, and as the Tour's ‘Presenting Partner', this is a tremendous opportunity for our colleagues to create greater understanding of the value we provide for clients so they can enhance economic and human possibility for their companies and employees across the country.”

Ends

*NBC Sports Group, 20^th August 2013

About Manchester United

Manchester United is one of the most popular and successful sports teams in the world, playing one of the most popular spectator sports on Earth. Through our 136-year heritage we have won 62 trophies, enabling us to develop the world's leading sports brand and a global community of 659 million followers. Our large, passionate community provides Manchester United with a worldwide platform to generate significant revenue from multiple sources, including sponsorship, merchandising, product licensing, new media & mobile, broadcasting and match day.

Manchester United in America

Close season tours

May/June 1950:

• Twelve games against mainly local clubs (included one game against Mexican club Atlas)
• New York, Fall River, Mass., St Louis, Los Angeles, Chicago (also Toronto & Montreal)

May/June 1952:

• Twelve games against local clubs and also Atlas x 2, Tottenham Hotspur x 2 and Stuttgart Kickers (Germany)
• New Jersey, Philadelphia, Fall River, Mass., Chicago, Los Angeles (also Toronto & Montreal)

May/June 1960:

• Ten games against local clubs and also Heart of Midlothian x 4 and Munich 1860
• New York, St Louis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fall River, Mass., Philadelphia (also Toronto & Vancouver)

May 1967:

• Benfica (Los Angeles), Dundee (San Francisco)

May 1970:

• Bari (New York), Eintracht Frankfurt x 2 (San Francisco and Los Angeles)

May 1976:

• Chicago Sting, Dallas Tornado

May 1978:

• Tampa Bay Rowdies, Tulsa Roughnecks

May 1980:

• Portland Timbers

May 1982:

• Seattle Sounders

Pre-season tours

July 2003:

• Celtic (Seattle), Club America (Los Angeles), Juventus (New Jersey), Barcelona (Philadelphia)

July 2004:

• Bayern Munich (Chicago), Celtic (Philadelphia), AC Milan (New York)

July 2010:

• Philadelphia Union, Kansas City Wizards, MLS All-Stars (Houston)

July 2011:

• New England Revolution (Boston), Seattle Sounders, Chicago Fire, MLS All-Stars (New Jersey), Barcelona (Washington)