Bancroft, who joined the club as head of women’s football last month, has been speaking to club media’s Steve Bennett in her first interview since starting the role.
Polly, who formerly worked for the FA, UEFA and Brighton & Hove Albion, outlined how she will fit into the existing structure at United and how she hopes to grow the team in the years to come.
She was also asked about manager Marc Skinner and the promising start we’ve made to the 2022/23 Women’s Super League (WSL) season, plus the progress of several Reds such as Ella Toone, Katie Zelem and Maya Le Tissier. You can both read and watch the full interview with Polly below…
So Polly, welcome to Manchester United. Tell us how your first few weeks have been at the football club?
“Thanks Steve. I’ve had a very warm welcome, a northern warm welcome. No, it’s been really good, everyone’s been really supportive, really helpful. It’s great to be here.”
Tell us what your role will entail: daily, what are you doing? And long and short term, what are your goals?
“So the role hybrids football and the business side as well, so it’s quite a broad remit. Clearly the priorities are to support Marc [Skinner] and the players and that we do as well as we can in the Women’s Super League. Outside of the first team, it’s to support the other seven women’s teams within the club. That I suppose is the first layer. The second layer is then to continue the integration of women’s football in the broader club, so it’s working with the legal team, the commercial team, the marketing team to make sure that the women’s and girls’ teams are front and centre of their plans. Then I suppose the final layer is working with the stakeholders, so the FA, broadcasters, the supporters’ club, to again be, I suppose, a leader in women’s football and to make sure that the opinions and the position of this club is at the forefront of the professionalisation of the women’s game.”