Essendon chief executive Peter Jackson and Manchester United director of commercial enterprises Ben Hatton, officially announced the agreement at a press conference held in the Essendon Hall of Fame 19 November 2003.

“Manchester United is seeking to grow its membership business in Australia and we are honoured they have seen Essendon Football Club as the right partner to help achieve that goal,” Essendon chief executive Peter Jackson said. “Together I think we can achieve some real results for both clubs and our supporters.”

Manchester United director of commercial enterprises Ben Hatton said the Australian and New Zealand markets were becoming increasingly important to his club.

The Australian market ranks fourth in terms of visits to the Manchester United website, behind the United Kingdom, the United States and China.

“Our figures suggest we have in the region of four million supporters across Australia and New Zealand. These people have a real affinity and loyalty to Manchester United and we want to be able to deliver something of real value to reward them for that,” Hatton said.

“Our challenge is always how we can bring Manchester United closer to our fans around the world. We feel that with our One United membership scheme and the support of Essendon we can really start to do that in Australia and New Zealand.

“Knowing more about our fans around the world is a cornerstone of our Group strategy. Only by knowing more about them can we start to think about ensuring we can deliver against what they expect from us,” Hatton said.