The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden, an arena they share with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League . They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City; the other team is the Brooklyn Nets. Alongside the Boston Celtics, the Knicks are one of two original NBA teams still located in its original city.
Manchester United is one of the most popular football clubs in the world, with one of the highest average home attendances in Europe.[136] The club states that its worldwide fan base includes more than 200 officially recognised branches of the Manchester United Supporters Club (MUSC), in at least 24 countries.[137] The club takes advantage of this support through its worldwide summer tours. Accountancy firm and sports industry consultants Deloitte estimate that Manchester United has 75 million fans worldwide.[10] The club has the third highest social media following in the world among sports teams (after Barcelona and Real Madrid), with over 82 million Facebook followers as of July 2023.[11][138] A 2014 study showed that Manchester United had the loudest fans in the Premier League.
Originally funded by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, the club became a limited company in 1892 and sold shares to local supporters for £1 via an application form.[18] In 1902, majority ownership passed to the four local businessmen who invested £500 to save the club from bankruptcy, including future club president John Henry Davies.[18] After his death in 1927, the club faced bankruptcy yet again, but was saved in December 1931 by James W. Gibson, who assumed control of the club after an investment of £2,000.[23] Gibson promoted his son, Alan, to the board in 1948,[196] but died three years later; the Gibson family retained ownership of the club through James' wife, Lillian,[197] but the position of chairman passed to former player Harold Hardman.[198]
Promoted to the board a few days after the Munich air disaster, Louis Edwards, a friend of Matt Busby, began acquiring shares in the club; for an investment of approximately £40,000, he accumulated a 54 per cent shareholding and took control in January 1964.[199] When Lillian Gibson died in January 1971, her shares passed to Alan Gibson who sold a percentage of his shares to Louis Edwards' son, Martin, in 1978; Martin Edwards went on to become chairman upon his father's death in 1980.[200] Media tycoon Robert Maxwell attempted to buy the club in 1984, but did not meet Edwards' asking price.[200] In 1989, chairman Martin Edwards attempted to sell the club to Michael Knighton for £20 million, but the sale fell through and Knighton joined the board of directors instead.[200]
Manchester United is one of the most successful clubs in Europe in terms of trophies won.The club's first trophy was the Manchester Cup, which they won as Newton Heath LYR in 1886, In 1908, the club won their first league title, and won the FA Cup for the first time the following year. Since then, they have gone on to win a record 20 top-division titles – including a record 13 Premier League titles – and their total of 13 FA Cups is second only to Arsenal. Those titles have meant the club has appeared a record 30 times in the FA Community Shield (formerly the FA Charity Shield), which is played at the start of each season between the winners of the league and FA Cup from the previous season; of those 30 appearances, Manchester United have won a record 21, including four times when the match was drawn and the trophy shared by the two clubs.
Websites
Becoming a leading global provider of digital solutions and services for the sports industry, enabling our clients to achieve their goals and reach their full potential.
We aspire to be a trusted partner and advisor to our clients, leveraging our expertise and passion for sports to help them succeed in a rapidly changing market.
