MACNHESTER: A majority of Manchester United fans favor building a new stadium rather than re-developing Old Trafford, according to a survey released on Tuesday.
Of 50,000 United season ticket holders, club members and executive club members polled, 52 percent said they preferred the idea of a new facility, while 31 percent supported the re-development of one of the most recognizable stadiums in world football. Another 17 percent were undecided.
United’s cross-city neighbors Manchester City left their Maine Road stadium in 2003 to move into the new City of Manchester Stadium, but Premier League rivals Liverpool have re-developed their Anfield home.
United released artist’s images in September of a potential Old Trafford regeneration project and have indicated that a new stadium could be part of a multi-billion-pound re-development project.
The club’s owners are considering options in conjunction with the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force, which includes former United defender Gary Neville and World Athletics president Sebastian Coe among its members.
The Daily Telegraph has reported that a final decision on which option to choose is likely to be taken in the first half of 2025.
The Task Force is understood to have focused its discussions on building a new 100,000-capacity stadium rather than redeveloping Old Trafford.
Rick McGagh, United’s director of fan engagement, said: “We know how important our home is to fans and we need to listen to them and gain all their views and insights in order to develop the world-class stadium they deserve.
“We are able to view the results through different lenses to understand if our season ticket holders feel differently about anything than say our official members. And if younger fans have different views to older fans.”

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will host New Zealand, Zimbabwe and England women’s cricket teams for the first time in 2026 and 2027, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said this week, saying that the tours were part of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Future Tours Programme 2025-29. 

Zimbabwe women’s team will tour Pakistan in April-May 2026 while New Zealand will be visiting the country in April 2027, the PCB said in a statement. The English women’s cricket team will tour Pakistan in October 2027 while Bangladesh will be the fourth side to tour the country in October 2028. 

“Pakistan will host England, New Zealand and Zimbabwe women’s cricket teams for the first time as ICC announced Future Tours Programme 2025-29,” the PCB said in a press release on Monday. 

Eleven countries will participate in the fourth cycle of the ICC Women’s Championship being played from 2026-29 to directly qualify for the ICC Women’s 50-over World Cup in 2029, it said, adding that each team will compete against eight other teams in eight home and away matches. 

The fourth cycle of the ICC Women’s Championship, which will be played from 2026-29, will see 11 sides taking part in the event for direct qualification to the ICC Women’s 50-over World Cup in 2029. 

In the Women’s Championship, each team will compete against eight other teams, following the format of four home and four away series, similar to the current edition. Across 44 series, a total of 132 ODIs will be played, with each series consisting of three matches.

“The Future Tour Programme will see an ICC Women’s tournament taking place every year, starting with the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 in India, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England, the inaugural ICC Women’s Champions Trophy in 2027 and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028,” the PCB added.

Pakistan will travel to South Africa in February 2026 and then play Sri Lanka in July of the same year as part of their away assignments, the board said. In November 2026, Pakistan will visit the West Indies while their final away series in the ICC Women’s Championship 2026-29 cycle will be in Ireland in June 2028.