WOW HYDRATE and Manchester United’s ‘Red Cherry’ drink aligned with mutual values

Liam Watson
Images supplied by End to End Media

WOW HYDRATE launched its first-ever co-created ‘Red Cherry’ flavoured drink, working alongside one of the world’s biggest football clubs – demonstrating the shared mission of the two organisations that started with a multi-year global sponsorship from November last year.

WOW HYDRATE is a sports drink brand influencing the future of sports and fitness hydration, through its health benefits in the products.

Their range contains drinks with four essential electrolytes and vitamins B6, C & D – while also being sugar, fat and gluten free.

England and Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire is a brand ambassador for WOW HYDRATE, who also partner with world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, UK boxing promotion company BOXXER, West Ham United Women’s team, rugby club Castleford Tigers and Essex Cricket.

At the heart of these collaborations is WOW HYDRATE Managing Director Queenie Porter, who shared how the new ‘Red Cherry’ drink came about.

Harry Maguire is an ambassador from Manchester United.

“We had a board meeting last summer and we have some great individual ambassadors while also prominent in the world of boxing, so we asked how can we take the next step,” she told Soccerscene.

“We were wondering how we can resonate with the sport world and touch base with the consumer.

“When looking at football clubs, the number one priority was Manchester United because they are the biggest in the world.

“It was a mutual connection because they were looking for a hydration partner, and we were of course looking for a football club. The deal happened so quickly not in a rush, but because our values aligned so well – Manchester United are fan first, whereas we are consumer first.

“The way that Manchester United run their business is like one big family – from a receptionist all the way up to CEO.

“Both of us operate in the same manner and we just clicked as a result.”

While the sports drinks are prominent in UK-based Tesco stores, we will expect to see a greater expansion in the near future.

Porter shared what we can look forward to.

“We are planning to rollout WOW HYDRATE into 600 Woolworths stores in Australia from late April this year,” she said.

“It adds to our existing reach in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, while this year will also see the push into Europe including Spain and France – while we’ll also enter the United States towards the backend of 2024.

“We want to ensure that everything will be aligned and Manchester United will be a key part of that – whenever we venture somewhere new, the Club will be involved in the launch.”

Porter on the touchline of Old Trafford with the ‘Red Cherry’ drink.

In her role, Porter is passionate about getting the very best out of women’s sport.

Rather than competing, she sees it from a different lens when assessing fan demographics.

“Naturally I’m really passionate about women’s sport, particularly in football,” she said.

“What I want to use my platform for is to support the women’s game in its own identity.

“There’s a lot around people wanting to make the men’s and women’s game equal, but I just want to focus on making the women’s game the best it can be in its own standing.

“It brings in a much more family audience, so from a brand perspective you can tap into what you otherwise would not have before.

“Women have different needs to men such as in recovery, so I want to ensure that women have the support there.

“For example with ACL injuries, our protein drink is one of the best ways to recover white muscle tissues.”

Porter with the Manchester United home shirt.

A key orchestrator of the collaboration was Victoria Timpson, Manchester United’s CEO of Alliances and Partnerships.

The Red Devils will support WOW HYDRATE in promoting all the benefits they offer.

“We are very proud to have welcomed WOW HYDRATE as Manchester United’s official sports hydration partner and excited to work with the brand on educating our fans on the importance of hydration and the science behind its products,” she said exclusively to Soccerscene.

“WOW HYDRATE’s ability to work with the club to collaborate on the dual branded Red Cherry hydration drink and make it available to our fans within months of announcing the partnership, demonstrates its strong position within the global market. WOW HYDRATE has been well received by our fans and we look forward to building on this throughout the partnership.”

WOW HYDRATE’s health benefits in its drinks allow a club like Manchester United to rest and recover from strenuous schedules including the Premier League and European competition.

The household name that is Manchester United, coupled with international expansion, makes WOW HYDRATE a name that’s one to watch.

For full details and its products, you can view WOW HYDRATE’s website here.

Previous ArticleNext Article

Marie-Louise Eta makes history as new Union Berlin head coach

Avatar
Image credit: FC Union Berlin

In an historic appointment, Eta will take over as head coach of Union Berlin until the end of the season.

History in the making

Previously the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history with Union Berlin, Eta will now take the reigns of the men’s first team on an interim basis.

Currently, the club sit in 11th place in the Bundesliga table, but with only two wins so far in 2026, relegation appears an all-too-real prospect, and one which the club is desperate to avoid.

“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” said Eta via official media release.

‘I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.”

Eta will begin as Union’s new head coach with immediate effect, and will be in the dugout for the club’s matchup against Wolfsburg this weekend.

 

A step into an equal future

Eta’s appointment signals a major step towards a more level playing field in the football landscape.

Furthermore, Eta joins other coaches including Sabrinna Wittmann, Hannah Dingley and Corinne Diacre who, in recent years, have blazed a trail for female coaches to step into the men’s game.

Wittmann currently manages FC Ingolstadt in Germany’s third division, and was the first female head coach in Germany’s top three divisions.

In 2023, Dingley became caretaker manager of Forest Green Rovers, and thus the first woman to lead a men’s professional team in England.

Diacre, now head coach of France’s women’s national team, managed Ligue 2’s Clerment Foot between 2014 and 2017.

 

Final thoughts

The impact therefore, is that Eta’s appointment will show future generations of aspiring female coaches that men’s football is an equally viable and possible pathway as the women’s game.

The time is now to level the playing field.

And while it may be a short-term role, its effect on attitudes towards equality and fair opportunities in the game will hopefully resonate long after the season ends.

Record Pathway Breakthrough: Football NSW Report Highlights Power of Access and Equity

Avatar
Playing soccer
Image Credit: Shutterstock

Football NSW has released its 2025 Player Development Report, documenting a year of significant growth across its Talented Player Pathway programs for girls, boys and regional players, and offering the clearest picture yet of how the state’s talent identification infrastructure is reshaping who gets access to elite football development in Australia.

The report distinguishes between three streams: girls, boys and regional, where each operate under the umbrella of the Talented Player Pathway, which encompasses Football NSW’s Youth Leagues, Talent Support Program and state teams. Across all three, the numbers point to a system that is identifying more players, reaching further into the community, and producing more national team representatives than at any previous point in the program’s history.

A Girls Pathway Coming of Age

The girls program recorded some of its most significant outcomes to date in 2025, headlined by the inaugural Future Sapphires Program, a dedicated development environment for 2009, 2010 and 2011-born players that ran 140 training sessions, 16 high-level matches against boys teams, and identified 20 players for national team involvement across its first year alone.

The Talent Support Program conducted 494 player assessments across 119 club visits, with 117 additional games provided for TSP players throughout the season. At the Emerging Matildas Championships, Football NSW fielded three state teams, with the Under-15s Sky team claiming the championship, the Under-16s finishing as runners-up, and the Under-15s Navy placing third.

The pathway-to-national-team conversion rate was striking. Of the 23-player squad selected to represent the Junior Matildas at the AFC Under-17 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers, 13 were from Football NSW, a 56.5 percent representation rate from a single state federation.

“This report does not simply provide data and numbers,” said Girls Player Development Manager Nadine Shiels. “It highlights our progress and validates the standards we set.”

The equity implications of that pipeline are significant. Elite female footballers in Australia, have historically faced a narrower and less resourced development corridor than their male counterparts. Programs like the Future Sapphires and the TSP are structural interventions in that imbalance, reshaping access mechanisms that determine which players get seen and which do not.

Boys Program Deepens its Reach

The boys Talent Support Program underwent deliberate restructuring in 2025, reducing squad sizes from approximately 90 players and five teams to 54 players and three teams per age group, while extending match duration from 50 to 70 minutes. The intent was to raise the standard of the best-versus-best environment rather than simply widen it.

The results support that confidence. To date, 155 players who have participated in the boys TSP have transitioned to A-League academies, with approximately 35 progressing to A-League Men’s competition and a further 30 representing Australia at junior national level across the Under-17, Under-20 and Under-23 squads.

The 2025 season added four Talent Development Scheme matches for players born between 2007 and 2009, delivered in collaboration with Football Australia and targeting potential Junior Socceroos and Young Socceroos selection. The program also hosted the inaugural A-Leagues/TSP Tournament at Valentine Sports Park in December, featuring Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory, Western Sydney Wanderers, Sydney FC, Macarthur Bulls Academy and a TSP Select team.

“Our purpose is clear- not only to identify talent, but to prepare it,” said Boys Player Development Manager Philip Myall.

The Regional Question

Perhaps the most structurally significant section of the report concerns regional development- the stream that most directly addresses the geographic equity gap in Australian football’s talent pipeline.

Talent identification in Australia has historically concentrated in metropolitan areas, where NPL clubs, A-League academies and state federation programs are most densely located. Players in regional and rural NSW face a structural disadvantage that has nothing to do with ability and everything to do with geography. Fewer club visits, reduced access to high-performance environments, and reduced visibility to the coaches and scouts who determine national team selection saliently reflect a systemic barrier.

The 2025 regional TSP involved 241 players across 57 training sessions, 18 hub matches and 58 additional tournament games, with Football NSW coaches present at local association fixtures and regional tournaments including the Bathurst Cup and Country Cup. Regional players were also integrated into Elite Game Days at Valentine Sports Park, directly competing against metropolitan TSP cohorts and A-League academy players.

“The program has continued to enable identified players to progress and be part of the greater football elite player pathway,” said Regional Development Manager Andrew Fearnley, “with opportunity to progress and be identified into national youth teams.”

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend