Founded in 1878 as Newton Heath L&YR Football Club, the English football club has operated for over 140 years. The team first entered the English First Division, then the highest league in English football, for the start of the 1892-93 season.
The club's name changed to Manchester United Football Club in 1902, before winning the first of their 20 English League titles in 1908. In 1910, Manchester United moved to Old Trafford (also known as the theatre of dreams) their current stadium.
Key historical moments:
• Late 1940s
In the late 1940s, the club returned to on-field success, winning the FA Cup in 1948 and finishing within the top four league positions during each of the first five seasons immediately following the Second World War.
During the 1950s, Manchester United continued their on-field success under the leadership of manager Sir Matt Busby, who built a popular and famous team based on youth players known as the "Busby Babes".
• Late 1950s
In February 1958, an airplane crash resulted in the death of eight of the club's first team players. Global support and tributes followed this disaster as Busby Babes galvanized the team around such popular players as George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law.
Rebuilding of the club culminated with a victory in the 1968 European Cup final, becoming the first English club to win this title.
• 1986
In 1986, Manchester United FC appointed Sir Alex Ferguson as manager. In 1990, he won the FA Cup and began a period of success that continued for decades.
Since 1992, Man United have won the Premier League 13 times, totaling a record of 20 English League titles, a record 12 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, 3 European Champions Cups and 1 FIFA Club World Cup, making the English football club one of the most successful clubs in England.
Club Stadium and Legends:
Since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, Manchester United football club has enjoyed consistent success and growth with popular players such as Eric Cantona, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Bryan Robson, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie.
The popularity of these players, the club's distinguished traditions and history, and the on-field success of their first team have allowed the club to expand into a global brand with an international follower base.
The club's Old Trafford stadium, commonly known as "The Theatre of Dreams," was originally opened on February 19, 1910 with a capacity of approximately 80,000.
During the Second World War, Old Trafford was used by the military as a depot, and on March 11, 1941 was heavily damaged by a German bombing raid. The stadium was rebuilt following the war and reopened on August 24, 1949. The addition of floodlighting, permitting evening matches, was completed in 1957 and a project to cover the stands with roofs was completed in 1959.
After a series of additions during the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, capacity at Old Trafford reached 56,385 in 1985. The conversion of the stadium to an all-seater reduced capacity to approximately 44,000 by 1992, the lowest in its history.
Thereafter, the club began to expand capacity throughout the stadium, bringing capacity to approximately 58,000 by 1996, approximately 68,000 by 2000, and approximately 76,000 in 2006. The club currently has a jaw-dropping stadium capacity of approximately 75,454.
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