Manchester United have introduced a new end-of-season award celebrating one supporter who has gone above and beyond - in memory of its first recipient.
At their annual presentation ceremony, held at Old Trafford, the club honoured Ian Stirling for tirelessly dedicated work as ISLO for the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) as well as him playing a pivotal role in revitalising relations between the club and its followers through the Fans' Forum and Fans' Advisory Board.
Ian sadly passed away, aged 57, earlier this year. He contributed massively to the above and more while helping to positively impact millions of fellow United supporters around the globe.
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As such, the first 'Ian Stirling Fan Award' has been presented to Ian's family and it will be handed out every year to someone who goes that extra mile for the club, their community or wider fan-base.
After launching the award, United CEO Richard Arnold said: "Ian was so integral to the development of the fan engagement structures and processes that we have in place at Manchester United today. Together with Duncan Drasdo, he helped rebuild the relationship between MUST and the club, which had previously broken down.
"This has led to significant improvements in fan/club relations. The biggest tribute we can pay Ian is to ensure that the work he put in to improve fan engagement is a launch pad for more progress and that we continue to listen to our fans and act in their best interests."
Accepting the award on behalf of her late husband, Lynn Stirling - who attended the ceremony along with their daughter Lucy - added: "We are absolutely overwhelmed the club has honoured Ian's memory by naming this new Fans Award after him as a lasting legacy to the work he undertook in his roles as the ISLO for MUST and for the club Fans' Forum and Fans' Advisory Board.
"We have come to realise over the past few weeks the true extent of Ian's reach across so many areas of the game, including campaigning for the introduction of safe standing and fairer ticketing prices, and the lasting impact he has had on so many people far and wide.
"We are immensely proud of everything that Ian has achieved through his dedication and determination to make a positive difference whenever possible."
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