Sale United was first formed in 1975, being the brainchild of Ken Wilkinson. His idea was to start a junior football team to provide lads in Sale with the opportunity to play football, not just the good footballers, but everyone.
The committee included two ex-professional footballers, Harry Dowd and Derek Partridge. A charity match between a Manchester City All Stars team and a Merseyside All Stars team provided the much needed funds to start the Club off and gain entry to the Timperley & District League.
That first year the Club was able to field three teams, Under 11, Under 12 & Under 13. Over the course of our 40 years, that original concept by Ken has never changed, only extended. We still invite lads to join, regardless of their ability, but 2000 saw the introduction of a girls section.
The Football Association introduced Mini-Soccer in the late 90s, the theory being that with teams consisting of only 7 players, the children would increase their skills quicker because they would have more touches of the ball. When the players reach Under 11 they take one step further by playing 9-a-side and with the introduction of the offside rule.
Through an initiative by Stewart Hamer, the Club Secretary & Development officer, a program aimed at introducing football skills to pre-school children called “Gimme 5s” was started in June 2004. This program currently runs five sessions a week where, in its ten years, over 800 children have been taught fundamental skills through fun exercises aimed at stretching their imagination .One minute they may be spacemen, the next minute they might be pirates or Formula One racing drivers. All such scenarios are carried out where the children have their own individual ball to control.