Man Utd to be cheered on by local children with scheme to offer FREE cup tickets

Manchester United will have sold 30,000 free tickets to groups of children following Wednesday's Carabao Cup clash against Colchester United at Old Trafford.

The club ticketing initiative for cup games has included the third round clash against Rochdale, as well as all three Europa League group games against Astana, Partizan Belgrade and AZ Alkmaar.

Schools, local football teams and other youth organisations have benefited from the scheme to see the Red Devils in action this season, increasing the capacity for less-popular fixtures.

The community initiative has been designed to make watching football at Old Trafford more affordable for young supporters.

'We are committed to helping younger fans watch live, affordable football,' said Manchester United COO Collette Roche in a press statement.

'This is part of our efforts to help create a consistently vibrant atmosphere at Old Trafford and encourage our next generation of match-goers.'

As well as the free cup scheme, there are other cheap initiatives which have been used by the club this season.

Stadium-wide, under-16 tickets are £10, there is a 50 per cent discount on tickets for the 16-17 age bracket and 25 per cent discount for 18-20 year-olds.

The club also froze season ticket prices this season for the eighth consecutive campaign, and the ninth in 10 years.

'While the stadium is sold out for the vast majority of games, we feel that it is important to seize these rare opportunities to widen access and give back to our local community,' Roche continued

'The feedback that we have received on this grassroots ticketing promotion has been terrific.

'It's put a smile on a lot of kids' faces, many of whom will have visited Old Trafford for the first time.'