The theme of this years’ observance is ‘stories to tell’, with three supporters from diverse backgrounds reflecting on their journeys as lifelong blues.
From witnessing over 2,000 matches to watching the players train at Platt Lane, Priyanka Sharma, Riz Khan and Mohammed Ullah each offer a unique insight into the rollercoaster that following City has been over the years.
Hear their stories below...
Priyanka Sharma
“It was the start and the end of the modelling career,” Priyanka Sharma jokes as she sifts through childhood photos of her in a City catalogue.
“I wasn’t sure whether to mention it or not, but I still have these photos. Back in the day I had the full spread, they’re so hilarious.”
They might be a personal source of amusement for Priyanka, but they’re an indication of the impact that Manchester City has had on her entire life.
Born in Manchester and raised in nearby Wilmslow, football and, specifically, City were always a key part of her early years.
That was helped in no small part by her father being a massive blue, in direct opposition with the rest of his Manchester United supporting family!
Despite the fierce rivalry between the two sides, football was always seen as something to unite, rather than divide though, with Priyanka the third generation of her family to live in Manchester after her grandparents emigrated from India.
There was never any question about if she’d follow in her father’s footsteps and choose blue over red though.
“Being born in Manchester and having a dad that was already City, my colour was always going to be blue, there was no choice really,” she explains.
“I’m glad it stuck though. My time as a fan, sharing the highs and the lows, it’s great to see how the club has grown over the years.
“From the Maine Road days to now, celebrating 20 years at the Etihad, has been great to be a part of.
“When you are actually there in the stadium, seeing it happen, that makes it so special.
“We’ve been lucky enough to witness what we have, but your experience is made up by the fans and together you are part of this community, that’s what makes the atmosphere and the experience so much better at City.”
It was an instant spark for Priyanka, who was a regular on the terraces throughout her childhood.
That connection ran even deeper when considering that her family, who designed and imported sporting goods, would also supply a lot of merchandise – most notably matchday scarves - to the Club.
It’s certainly a fair assessment when she describes City as being ‘there from the beginning’, and that wasn’t about to diminish when she went to university in North Wales.
Her closest friend also being a blue certainly helped, but they would make sure they watched every City match they could when their studies or other commitments didn’t allow them to be there in the flesh.
It’s still the same now, demonstrated by Priyanka’s reaction to the crowning moment in what was the most successful season in the Club’s storied history to date.
“I remember screaming the house down, we were all sat together as a family watching it,” she recalls with a smile following City’s Champions League final triumph in June 2023.
“I was messaging every group chat that there was because the boys at work were saying we’d bottle it and weren’t going to do it.
“That joy, that excitement, it’s a genuine sense of pride.
“And when you got to see the boys at the end getting the medals and then the celebrations that happened after, it was another rollercoaster of emotions.”
After so many years of progression, near misses and heartbreak, Rodrigo’s goal against Inter saw Manchester City crowned Champions of Europe for the first time.
It is, without question, one of Priyanka’s favourite memories as a City supporter, but another rubs shoulders with it.
11 years before that historic moment, the Club famously claimed a maiden Premier League title in what is arguably the most dramatic final day in English top flight history.
It was a defining moment for Manchester City, and a defining moment for Priyanka.
“I remember so vividly exactly where I was, who I was sat next to, just everything that was happening that day.
“I was screaming at the screen, going straight to United, watching them all think they had won it.
“Pablo Zabaleta, Edin Dzeko and then Sergio Aguero clinching it for us. The burst of emotion, the scarfs out the car on the way home.
“The only other feeling I’ve had since is obviously the treble because seeing that was history being made for the first time.
“Trust me, I was so happy at school on Monday [after the QPR victory in 2012]. The majority of people at school were United fans, always rubbing it in about City.
“But you’d stick to your guns and just carry on. You just felt so proud.”
Fast forward back to present day, and that immense source of pride is as strong as ever for Priyanka.
It’s not just down to the on-pitch success of Pep Guardiola’s men, though. She believes that football has a power to bring people from a variety of backgrounds together for one common cause, and to create an environment where everyone feels welcomed, included and valued.
This is somewhere that she believes Manchester City excels.
She explains: “It doesn’t matter where you come from, what you look like, once you put your hat and your scarf on, you’re a blue. Anything else gets left behind and you are there to support your team.
“As the famous Tony Walsh poem says: ‘Some are born here, some are drawn here but we can all call it home’.
“Football brings thousands and thousands of people together, you’re sharing all of these different emotions, highs and lows and you are doing that with the person with you by your shoulder.
“It really does unite so many people to watch the game and with regards to breaking down the barriers, everything else gets left behind because you are there to watch the game, you are there to support and share that passion.
“From a fan perspective you are definitely there, and your focus is supporting the boys or girls that are playing.”
“We have had some tough years, I was there to witness them, but seeing the current team play and seeing how they set this new precedent and style, essentially an era for themselves and the next generation now coming up, I obviously can’t wait to see their continued success with that.”
Riz Khan
Having been a Manchester City supporter since 1979, Riz Khan is confident he’s watched his beloved blues over 2,000 times.
While not an official title, it’s certainly a claim to fame that he should, rightfully, take immense pride in.
During those four decades, he’s had a season ticket in all four stands at the Etihad, as well as in our former home, Maine Road, and bore witness to both the heartbreaking lows and dizzying highs that following City has provided supporters with over the years.
It almost never happened, though.
“My father worked on the buses and saw a lot of hooliganism,” Riz reflects.
“It wasn’t the thing to do [to watch football] because he saw violence ferrying fans around for different teams. It was thought of as a bit of a no-go area for South Asian people.
“But City was based in a multicultural area of Moss Side, you’d see people from all different backgrounds and what always came through for me was that community feel.
“Around Maine Road, you knew you were in a multicultural community, and it’s been natural to City because of that to make sure people from all backgrounds feel welcome and part of the Club.
“Football is part of the fabric of society in this country, and it’s taken a few generations to truly appreciate that.”
Having been to Maine Road for the first time as a 15-year-old, Riz would save up enough money to purchase a season ticket a few years later, travelling in secret to watch his beloved City.
He’d already been lucky enough to see Colin Bell in the flesh while at junior school, but other heroes such as Gerry Gow, Tommy Hutchinson, Kazimierz Deyna and Mick Robinson would emerge in those early years.
His father would eventually approve of his son’s passion, and while Riz always respected his reservations about going to the football, he insists that the atmosphere around Maine Road on a matchday instantly made him feel like he belonged.
He explains: “From the Etihad Stadium now to Maine Road back then, it’s still a community club and has that family feel to it. It feels like a Manchester club.
“Going to City, you know you’re watching a community team. The feeling you get at home is like a community.
“I love and enjoy it exactly the same as I did before. We lived literally stones throw away from Maine Road, on the other side of Alexandra Park.
“As a younger fan, the atmosphere was different due to being on the terraces. You felt really involved in the emotion.”
Riz still has a season ticket to this day at the Etihad Stadium but, rather than go to matches with his friends, football has now become a family affair.
Alongside his wife of 25 years, Ameena, each of his five children, ranging from 23 to 7, cheer on Pep Guardiola’s men with the same passion as their father.
It’s a different experience for Riz compared to those early years of following the Club at Maine Road, but one that he relishes.
Indeed, watching his young daughters soak up the Etihad atmosphere and cheer on City’s current heroes, just as he did all those years ago, makes it all worthwhile.
“I’m an introvert, but my kids aren’t!” he jokes.
“The fan experience isn’t just how you are… I’m in the zone watching like a manager and taking it seriously but they’ll be jumping around and screaming.
“My seven-year-old is in love with [Erling] Haaland. She knows all the songs and once said to my eldest daughter ‘if you marry Haaland, I can have sleepovers at your house’.
“Every single one of my children has been a mascot at City. They’ve enjoyed and been privileged to have those opportunities because they’ve known nothing but success.
“It’s ironic but also a bit of karma given the first 30 years I had following the Club, when my family would give me some stick.
“I’ve been ribbed for supporting Man City in those early years. The only trophy we ever won was the play-off final against Gillingham in 1999.
“I remember the exit was quite a way up at Wembley and we started making our way up there, but as soon as the first goal went in, we ran all the way back down.
“It was bizarre, and one of those moments that stays with you.”
Unsurprisingly, Riz and his family were there to witness every step of the Club’s historic Treble triumph in 2022/23.
As season ticket holders, they were in the sea of sky blue that celebrated a third successive Premier League crown with a 1-0 win over Chelsea in May 2023.
A few weeks later and Riz took his two youngster daughters to Wembley Stadium as Pep Guardiola’s men came out on top in the first meeting between City and Manchester United in a major final.
In Istanbul, he was with his eldest two who, given their longer association with the Club, will perhaps have felt the eruption of joy and relief that our Champions League victory over Inter generated for fans across the world, more keenly.
But while our success during the 2022/23 campaign has left an indelible mark on everyone associated with City, Riz believes the true measure of our achievements transcends those exploits.
“It’s not just about on the pitch, it’s about what you’re doing off it too,” he concludes.
“To be sustainable and attract fans, especially the local community. That’s the real measure of success for me, and you can’t take that away from Manchester City.
“That’s probably the most defining thing for me about why I’m proud to be a fan.”
Mohammed Ullah
As Black, Asian, Mixed or Other representative, Mohammed Ullah is one of ten volunteers who form City Matters – the Club’s fan network.
It’s a position which means a great deal to him but, to truly delve into his life as a City supporter, the clocks need to first be turned back to the 1970s, where his mother was growing up on the doorstep of Platt Lane, the Club’s former training ground.
“All her life, it was normal to see the players,” he reflects with enthusiasm.
“She’d always tell us about the players she’d seen as a teenager, the likes of Denis Law and then, later on, Peter Reid or even cricket legend Wasim Akram.
“It was funny how she’d speak so normally about these players. They’d be in the local supermarkets walking around and would often park up on our road and walk to Maine Road.
“There used to be a fancy Italian restaurant on the end of our street and the players would always be seen in there with people waiting outside trying to get their autograph.
“But it was normal that they’d go there, or to the pubs further down on Stockport Road after a match.
“For my mum, it was a big deal seeing the first glimpse of what was a celebrity to her walking up and down her street.”
Thanks to his uncle being a diehard blue, Mohammed became a City supporter from an early age, with his first game coming in 1993 – a 1-1 draw with Southampton at Maine Road.
He was instantly obsessed with forward Niall Quinn and would often watch the team train at Platt Lane on the way home from high school in Burnage.
Some of the City squad even paid a visit to his college in 2000, with Mohammed joking that he felt like a ‘fanboy’ when meeting goalkeeper Nicky Weaver and captain Andy Morrison, demanding a photo be taken by his teacher with the players.
Clearly his passion for football was there but, despite those incredible experiences, that genuine obsession with City took a while to truly ignite.
“I was more of a hardcore cricket fan at first, especially when Pakistan won the World Cup in 1992,” he admits.
“We’d go to Maine Road and watch from the outside, I couldn’t really afford to pay for a ticket and when my uncle moved to Cyprus me and my mate would go to get a glimpse of the Kippax.
“It was easy for us at Maine Road, so it did take some getting used to when we moved to the Etihad.
“We went from a life of walking down the road to see City to having to travel to matches, it might not sound like a lot, but it was a big shock at first.
“Football had always been around and on a matchday it had been like a ritual.”
Mohammed’s City-mad uncle’s move back to the United Kingdom briefly in 2005 helped to pique his interest once again but, in those early years, he describes football as a sport that he loved but couldn’t full identify with.
That has since altered dramatically.
He explained: “The change now, of culture and society has completely transformed the way I see football.
“I always loved the sport but in those early years I didn’t feel like anyone represented or looked like me.
“My uncle came back to Manchester and that’s when he reignited the spark for me. He was in Australia the day we won the league in 2012 and was on the phone to me almost in tears.
“By then we had the likes of Edin Dzeko and Yaya Toure. These were Muslim players. It was massive for me.”
Now Mohammed is determined to maintain the progress that he has seen in the beautiful game during his time on the terraces and continue reinforcing its collective ethos.
As the current Black, Asian, Mixed or Other representative for City Matters, he’s in a position to help the Club do exactly that.
While there’s still plenty of work to be done, it’s an exciting future and one that he’s proud to say is already coming to fruition.
“We’ve got some really positive stuff happening in the stadium and have lots of exciting things in the works around fan groups,” he concluded.
“We’ve done things in the programmes as well, just raising awareness.
“I see a more diverse group of fans, I’m not the only Muslim fan, I see women and families.
“Not only do I feel part of a family, a fabric, I’m literally able to make positive change for the fans. It’s a blessing for me.”
