Within the day, we visited Tommy Muir, the Chairman of our Cheadle branch and lifelong Blue. Tommy was given the honorary position of Life Vice President of the Official Supporters Club during the past season for his support and work for the Cheadle branch and the OSC.
We later visited Clare Watson, member of the Bluebells at Mary D’s branch. Clare, along with her partner Pete and grandsons Mason and Riley, travelled to Istanbul for the Champions League final.
Following an accident prior to the game in which she broke her leg, Clare and her family ended up missing the entire match.
With help from her daughter Jo, the Club were able to surprise Clare and her family with the three trophies. Clare said after the visit that “nothing had ever made me cry like this before.”
Knowing nothing about the visit themselves, Mason added that “no other club in the world would do this and I can’t thank them enough. It’s a memory none of us will ever forget! The best club in the world.”
Like Clare, Riley added that the shock nearly brought him to tears. “Just mind blowing,” said Riley.
Summing up an emotional visit, Jo was “blown away that City were able to do this for Mum, Phil and the boys. They were devastated to miss the match, which they rarely do being season ticket holders, and missing that moment can’t be replaced.
“To have the trophies here was unreal and I’ve never seem Mum so emotional, not even when City won the Premier League for the first time! That memory will stay with them forever,” said Jo.
Our final visit was to Leah Bailey, a member of our Reddish branch and a part of a huge City family with most of her immediate members attending games as season ticket holders.
Although celebrating her birthday on the day of the Champions League final, she was unforuntately unable to watch the match with her family dur to work commitments.
“The gesture from City to bring the trophies to our home is one that I’ll never forget,” said Leah. “The Club gave me a chance to share a once in a lifetime experience with my family and this means more than I could ever say.
“The surprise was beyond anything I could have imagined. No one believed my son until he showed everyone the photos!”
Finally, the three trophies were hosted at the Club’s City Football Academy. Here, 150 Official Supporters Club members were able to get their photos taken with the silverware.
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