Fan group 1894 celebrate landmark with fitting game

“IF WE THOUGHT that kicking off at 3am would benefit football and make it louder and we could all come out of a club and go straight to a match, we’d put that in there.”

- SIMON BAJKOWSKI

We Are 1894 are not pushing for kick-offs in the middle of the night but stressing that decisions they take are aimed at the good of the team and the fans. There was some criticism of their recent decision to boycott the Community Shield over a kick-off time that had failed to consider Blues making their way down to Wembley, and while some wear it as a badge of honour to travel through the night the point is they shouldn’t have to.

Despite little acknowledgement of them from the club, those protesting made two important points as they raised nearly £15,000 for local foodbanks while the sell-out crowd at Wembley was full of fans not usually at matchdays who were unable to get behind the team with any chants or songs.

Getting behind the team is why the group was set up 10 years ago, a bunch of friends who grew up on the Kippax and wanted to make sure complacency didn’t set in at the Etihad after their first Premier League title. They began fundraising for flags to display at games and started to organise a singing section to create a block of noise, working with the club for logistics on a matchday but also feeling like they could offer something different.

From banners supporting wider fan initiatives such as safe standing or ticker-tape and big card displays, the fans went over and above singing to give the stadium and the team an identity that could help all supporters get behind the players every matchday.