Ferguson heads stellar delegation for MUSC's 50th year party

February promises to be a month to remember for the thousands of Manchester United fans in Malta as the local supporters' branch of the Old Trafford giants has grand plans to celebrate its 50th anniversary in style.

Club manager Sir Alex Ferguson and three United stalwarts, namely captain Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, have heeded the call of the Manchester United Supporters' Club (MUSC) to take part in a social activity at the Mediterranean Conference Centre (MCC) on the evening of February 10.

The Premier League and Champions League trophies are also expected to be flown over to Malta for the Feb. 10 reception, the highlight of the weeklong programme of events drawn up by the MUSC, headed by president James Bullock, and the 50th Anniversary Sub-Committee to commemorate the historic milestone.

Their morale sky-high after Ferguson's team crowned a hugely successful 2008 by becoming the first English team to lift the FIFA Club World Cup in Tokyo last month, the United faithful in Malta are eagerly awaiting next month's celebrations which will also receive extensive coverage on MUTV, the club's official television channel.

Suffice to say that around 900 tickets for the dinner at the MCC were snapped up in 10 hours while the other planned events have also been met with a huge response by the United fans.

Manchester United and England legend Sir Bobby Charlton has also been invited to attend the function at the MCC along with Mike Phelan, Ferguson's assistant, Barry Moorhouse, Player Liaison Manager at United, Martin Ferguson, Sir Alex's brother who is United's European scout, and Neville Neville, Gary Neville's father.

Recognised as the oldest United supporters' club in the world, the MUSC will be 50 years old on February 4.

'Malta Week', to borrow the term coined by MUTV in connection with the MUSC events, will kick off on February 4 with a party at the Cottonera Sports Complex.

MUTV pundits and Jack Crompton, a former Manchester United goalkeeper, trainer and caretaker manager, have confirmed their participation for the social gathering at the Cottonera SC. On February 6, the 51st anniversary of the Munich air tragedy, the MUSC will hold a series of activities aimed at promoting a good cause.

The MUTV crew will be at the MUSC premises in Sta Venera on Sunday, February 8, to capture the atmosphere at the club during the Premier League match away to West Ham United. The following day, MUTV will stage a two-hour live programme at the Where's Everybody auditorium in Qormi.

The popular phone-in show, presented by United's 1968 European Cup winner Paddy Crerand and Mandy Henry and broadcast every Monday on MUTV, will be held outside English shores for the first time, another feather in the MUSC cap.

The audience for this special programme will be made up of local United supporters and arrangements are also being made to take phone-ins from Maltese viewers. As Ferguson, Neville, Giggs and Scholes are scheduled to land in Malta on Sunday night, the MUTV pundits are said to be confident that the United guests will make an appearance during the live show.

Throughout 'Malta Week', MUTV will also screen daily 15-minute clips on the events taking place between February 4 and 10.

"In order to celebrate this unique event (50th anniversary) in style, the Committee and the 50th Year Anniversary Sub-committee, have worked relentlessly during the last year to prepare a fitting programme of events," the MUSC wrote to their members last month.

Indeed, Manchester United's backing for the events planned by the MUSC for their 50th year celebrations is testament to the excellent relations between the two.

Along the years, the MUSC have had the honour of hosting Ferguson and other United greats for their end-of-season events.

In August 2000, the MUSC, then under the helm of John Buttigieg, succeeded in luring Manchester United to hold a mini-training camp in Malta during which they also played a friendly against Birkirkara.

Speculation has been rife that MUSC have also sounded out the Premier League club about sending the team over to Malta as part of their celebrations but there has been no official confirmation that such talks have taken place.

Last weekend, Manchester United, who will meet Inter in the first KO stage of the Champions League, beat Chelsea 3-0 to stay in contention to defend their Premier League crown.