Manchester United Foundation has won the Green Football Cup for the second year running thanks to the efforts of its young people in taking part in environmentally conscious activities such as travelling by bicycle or eating meat-free meals.

Manchester United staff and Foundation participants scored over 4,000 ‘green goals’ in the competition, which was 2,000 more goals than the next highest placing club. The goals were awarded for every sustainable choice users made, topping the table out of 117 clubs.

The Green Football Cup ran alongside the Green Football Weekend campaign, which highlighted how football fans can play their part in tackling climate change.

To present the trophy, Manchester United Women players Aoife Mannion and Katie Zelem joined two students from Levenshulme High School, who were table-toppers themselves in the league for individual players.

Aoife – who submitted her own meat-free recipe to Green Football Weekend, which users were then able to follow for themselves – spoke passionately about why it’s important for Manchester United to take part in climate change activities like this.

Aoife said: “It’s really important for clubs like us at Manchester United to take part in the Green Football Weekend, simply to raise awareness for looking after our climate and our environment, and we think that we can be influential and role models for everyone. The recipe that I created was a satay sweet potato curry.

“I feel really fortunate to have met two of our participants at the Foundation schools who scored the most goals for us in the whole country, for Green Football Weekend. It’s really important to raise awareness about our climate and our environment for young people, because ultimately, the future is in the hands of our young people.”

Sheeza, 15 years old, from Levenshulme High School, was the top-scoring pupil nationwide in Green Football Weekend.

Sheeza said: “For Green Football Weekend, there was a series of activities, some of them included us walking or taking the bike out, instead of using the car. I feel like Green Football Weekend has been a real good experience, because it raises awareness for everyone, across schools and clubs. People need to know that climate change is affecting our environment and it’s really important to protect our planet.

“Coming here [Carrington] today has been a blast and I’ve really enjoyed the experience. People need to understand that there isn’t actually another place for us to go. This is it, and it’s our shared responsibility to protect the planet”