 MEET THE COMMITTEE - JOSEPH TEDESCO

1) Can you tell us something about yourself (your personal life, age, marital status, work/profession)? What are your favourite past‑times apart from football? What was your favourite holiday destination? What are three words that describe you?

I am 51 years of age, married to Audrey Ann who I have been dating she was 13 and I was 17. We have been married for 24 years now and have 2 kids – Gary David 21 years and Thea 16. Both of them are Manchester United fans. My wife has become a Manchester United fan (she was a Juve fan before she met me) but she still prefers the Italian national football team than the English, unfortunately. I have no other pastimes apart from following: tennis and snooker every now and then and listening to Jon Bon Jovi music. Manchester United is my football religion and MUSC Malta is my other life commitment apart from family and work. I have been a public service officer in all my working career (33 years) and today I focus on the digitalising of public services. I visited a few places around the world, but my favourite holiday destination will always be the beautiful island of Gozo – best place to relax. Three words to describe myself – loyal, honest, and genuinely committed.

2) How did you start supporting United? What is your best memory of United? How many times have you visited Old Trafford? Who is your favourite current player and club legend? If there was one thing you could change at United, what would it be? If you were Man Utd manager and had an unlimited budget, which player would you bring to

United and why? Which team would you support if Man Utd did not exist?

My late father was the inspiration for my love towards Manchester United. When I started supporting United, the team was facing relegation year in, year out, so no one can call me a glory hunter for sure. I am lucky enough to have experienced so many wonderful and emotional experiences with Manchester United, but my best memory must be the Champions League final in 1999 in Barcelona. I have been to Old Trafford many times (stopped counting) and I also had the opportunity to watch my team in some away stadiums in England. I have no favourite player – I am the badge kind of fan but if I had to pick up my favourite legend during my years following United, I have to mention 2 – Bryan Robson and Eric Cantona. If I had the power at Old Trafford, there are a few things that I would change at United at the moment and on top of that list would be the way the Club deals with the Supporters’ Clubs worldwide. The business side of the Club took the limelight away completely from the focus the Club had on Supporters’ Clubs. If I had to bring a player to Old Trafford at the moment it must be a clinical centre forward, hence it must be Haaland however, realistically I can settle for Cody Gakpo. I follow some other clubs from a distance such as Torino, Fiorentina and Borussia Mönchengladbach (just look for their results in the weekend - there is a background for each) but I can never imagine me supporting another football Club if Manchester United did not exist. Probably I will be following a different sport.

3) What attracted you to join the Supporters’

Club? What made you contest the

Committee election? Describe your role in the club. Why would you recommend a

United supporter to join the world’s oldest

Man Utd supporters’ club?

The first time I entered the MUSC Malta premises was way back in late 1989 when the premises was located in St. Lucy Street, Valletta. I had just started to date my wife and her best friend’s dad is one who at the time was one of the stalwarts of our Supporters Club – Paul Tonna. He offered to take me to the Supporters’ Club on a Friday night, and I can still remember that first visit, going up those stairs, as if it was yesterday. I joined as a member on that first day even though on my membership card, for some reason, it shows member since 1991. I won’t complain. The excitement I felt on my way back home after that first visit was maybe the prelude of the following 33 years. I used to attend the Club on opening days – there were no match days at the time. It coincided with the start of Manchester United’s golden era and when the Premier League kicked off, I used to go and watch matches in the venues where the Supporters’ Club members used to meet.

We did not have a Club big enough to accommodate the hundreds of people that used to turn up. My wife seems to be in the centre of all these coincidences and one of her work mates was dating one of the Committee members. We went out for a meal together one night and I was introduced to my friend Charles Cauchi – a loyal Committee member who served the Supporters Club for 30 continuous years. Charles pushed me towards joining the Committee as a co-opted member and officially I became a Committee member on 1st January 1997. I can never thank Paul and Charles enough for the important roles they both played in my career at the Supporters’ Club. My first committee post was being in charge of the Souvenir Shop. Then I became Secretary, Vice President and in October 2009 I was elected as Club President. My role is basically to oversee all the other Committee roles, making sure that the Club is delivering value to the members, promoting the name of Manchester United and Manchester United Supporters’ Club Malta locally and abroad.

My experience in the many Committees that I have served at MUSC Malta taught me that supporting United and being an active member in the Committee are two separate commitments. I am also the match tickets coordinator, providing tickets to members to go and watch our favourite football team playing at Old Trafford. I have been in this role since my early years in the Committee and have kept that responsibility till date. I can assure you that I have a few stories with tickets but my 100% success rate in that every time a person requesting a ticket from MUSC Malta since I have been in charge has gone to Old Trafford and watched the game is still intact. The Club takes a lot of my time and I thank first and foremost my wife for her understanding and support during all these years and my fellow Committee members for their great commitment. It’s very rare to find a hard-working Committee in a Club but the ones I had to pleasure to work with in this Club have always been the exception of the exception. I thank the Club members who have shown faith in me for so many years. I had a disagreement with a member or two in my 25 years serving the committee and there could be another one or two who felt disgruntled about an action we have taken as a Committee during the past 13 years I have served as Club President. I can safely say that neither myself, nor the Committees I worked with as Club President ever took a decision that was not in the best interest of the Supporters’ Club, and I have no hard feelings towards those very few who for some reason have a different view. I am just very proud to be part of all this and we try to extend the family environment we have within the Committee to the Club members. Nowadays the Committee has many members who are very active helping and assisting the Committee on voluntary basis. It’s amazing! When one understands the mission, the commitment, the agenda and the passion we have at MUSC Malta, then becoming a member becomes a formality.