Five facts that you may not know about Manchester United’s home

Since Manchester United started their journey up the women’s footballing pyramid in summer 2018, they have staged their home fixtures at the Leigh Sports Village.

United and their fans have certainly started to build a legacy at the venue since opting to use the Leigh Sports Village as their home.

We take a look at five facts about the Leigh Sports Village which fans may not necessarily know.

Construction cost

The stadium cost just £17.5 million to build, a relatively low price for a ‘new build’ stadium. Construction of the Leigh Sports Village was officially completed on 28 December 2008 with the whole development project costing around £83 million.

A royal approval

Manchester United are one of the biggest global brands but they are not the most royal visitors to have ever visited the Leigh Sports Village. The complex was officially opened 21 May 2009 by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Leigh Genesis

Leigh Genesis were the first senior football team to play their home matches at the Leigh Sports Village in 2009. The club were managed by former Manchester City midfielder Garry Flitcroft at that time. The club spent a little over one season playing at the venue.

London 2012

The Leigh Sports Village was listed as a training venue for nations competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The Ukrainian Olympic team considered using the venue but in the end, no athletes were based in Leigh.

Manchester United Under-23s

The Manchester United Development Squad use the Leigh Sports Village for many of their men’s Premier League 2 fixtures. The club’s Under-19 side have also staged UEFA Youth League games at the ground in recent years. As a club, Manchester United have used the ground for various fixtures since 2014.

Manchester United Women played their first-ever fixture at the Leigh Sports Village on 25 August 2018 when they took on Reading in the FA Women’s Continental League Cup. A total of 4,835 fans were in attendance to witness that historic occasion.

Daniel Pentland

I am the editor and owner of FAWSL Full-Time magazine. I have been reporting on men’s and women’s football at various levels since summer 2015. Some of the events which I have reported from include the 2017 UEFA Women’s European Championship, 2018 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, SSE Women’s FA Cup final, Emirates FA Cup final, UEFA Europa League, English Football League and various international matches.

See author's posts