Neville chooses Malta for testimonial dinner

Manchester United fans in Malta are set for another treat this summer after it emerged that a testimonial dinner in honour of former club captain Gary Neville is to be held at Fort Manoel on June 28.

Neville, who brought the curtains down on his glittering career in February, has entrusted the Manchester United Suppor-ters’ Club (MUSC) with the responsibility of organising his testimonial dinner in Malta.

Besides being granted the ‘honour’ of hosting Neville’s testimonial dinner, the MUSC, spearheaded by president Joseph Tedesco, also revealed that the former England defender will dedicate all proceeds from the event to the club in order to boost their efforts to acquire their current premises in Sta Venera.

In a letter sent to its numerous members, the MUSC said: “Not only do we have the honour to say that we, as Supporters Club, have been asked to organise this dinner, but Gary also chose to dedicate the revenue from this activity to the club. This gesture will mark the first step towards fulfilling one of his (Neville’s) objectives, and also ours, which is to help us purchase our premises.

“This clearly shows how much Gary Neville loves our club. The profit generated from this dinner as well as part of other income from the testimonial game against Juventus (May 24) and from another dinner Gary intends to organise in Manchester towards the end of the year, will go into an account that will signal the start of this ambitious project.”

Hailed by United manager Sir Alex Ferguson as “the best English right-back of his generation”, Neville’s dedication, commitment and, above all, his loyalty to Manchester United earned him a special place in the hearts of the club’s fans.

Throughout the years, Neville became synonymous with the Maltese islands as he paid regular visits to our country to the extent that Malta is widely considered as ‘Gary Neville’s second home’.

His rapport with several Maltese people, especially those with close connections to the MUSC, blossomed over the years and John Buttigieg, the former MUSC president who is a very close friend of Neville and his family, is a member of his Testimonial Committee.

The MUSC paid tribute to Buttigieg’s key role in discussions between the local club and the Testimonial Committee. “It is fitting that the committee makes clear its position in this venture,” the MUSC wrote in the circular.

“The committee is overseeing the logistical aspect of this event but everything is being done with the approval of the Testimonial Committee. One of the members of this committee is John Buttigieg, a member and former president of our club who has been instrumental in our discussions with the Testimonial Committee.”

The MUSC, the oldest Manchester United supporters club in the world, have the experience and knowhow to organise large-scale events.

In 2009, the MUSC held a number of activities to celebrate their 50th anniversary, culminating in a gala dinner at the Mediterranean Conference Centre which was attended by Ferguson, Neville, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes and other distinguished guests from the Old Trafford club.

Several current and former United players have been invited for Neville’s Testimonial Dinner in Malta but the organisers are not in a position to give indications as to the list of attendees.

“The Testimonial Committee has informed us that Gary has invited a number of current and former players of Manchester United players,” the MUSC said.

“Unlike other events of this kind, this time it is Gary who is inviting the guests and not us. Therefore, until now, we have no confirmation as to who is coming for this dinner but we understand that Gary enjoys a lot of respect at Old Trafford and we are sure that for this dinner, we will again have a fantastic line-up of guests.

“In fact, we are planning to host between 40 to 50 foreign guests, apart from Gary.”

With Manchester United favourites to win the English Premier League and close to reaching the final of the Champions League, the MUSC have high hopes that any trophies won by the club this season will be brought over for Neville’s Testimonial Dinner.

Furthermore, MUTV, United’s TV channel, will cover the event and there’s also a strong possibility that Sky TV will also be present. Earlier this month, Neville signed a deal to become a football pundit for Sky from next season.

By the time he retired from football, Neville had made 602 appearances for the club he supported all his life, won eight Premier League titles, three FA Cups, two League Cups and the Champions League in 1999.