Manchester United Foundation announce Collette Roche has been appointed chair of the board of trustees | OneFootball

Collette Roche, chief operating officer of Manchester United, has been appointed chair of the board of trustees of the Manchester United Foundation.

The foundation is the charity wing of the football club and their mission statement reads, “we use football to engage and inspire young people to build a better life for themselves and unite the communities in which they live”.

The Manchester United Foundation board is responsible for governance of the club’s associated charity.

The official club website has announced that Roche is to replace former chair, Richard Arnold.

Despite Arnold’s departure being made public in mid-November, he only officially left his position this week.

Roche joined the Foundation board in March 2019, and was officially appointed chair in July 2023. She leads a board of ten other trustees.

Speaking to leadersinsport.com in 2021 she reflected on her professional self since the COVID pandemic.

As a manager she commented that she had become “more reflective, supportive, and understanding” and she tries to “focus on my teams’ wellbeing as much as their task list nowadays, to make sure they have the flexibility and support they need to stay positive and productive”.

Alongside Roche’s appointment, three new board members were announced, Christopher Saad, Monica Shafaq and Lottie Birdsall-Strong.

The new chair claimed, “I’m delighted to welcome Christopher, Monica and Lottie to the Foundation board, and have enjoyed spending time with them today. Their combined experience is invaluable to the Foundation, and I look forward to putting their visions into practice in the coming months.”

The Foundation itself has been busy lately in the run up to Christmas.

The charitable organization has opened up a “warm hub”, as relayed by The Peoples Person last week.

This hub is based in the club’s restaurant, the Red Cafe, and is designed to provide “a space to stay warm, chat, have a hot drink and some snacks” for those who require it.

Despite the ongoing negativity around the club at the moment, it must always be remembered, that whatever the results on the pitch, people like Roche will always be working hard behind the scenes to ensure the club does its fair share to help those in need.