UNITED. DELIVERED.: BIG BUSINESS, BIG OPPORTUNITIES IN OSLO

When the UNITED. DELIVERED. Global Football Tour arrived in Oslo, the match host was in for a big surprise. Now he’s hoping for a big opportunity to win the honeymoon of a lifetime.

Simone Arnsale Tsehaye and his fellow exchange students really mean business. They’re all braving the Scandinavian cold in Oslo, Norway to attend the BI Norwegian Business School. With over 18,000 students, it’s a big school – the second largest of its kind in all of Europe. 

The Ethiopian has big dreams, too – one of which is to visit Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams and home to his beloved Red Devils. That’s one of the reasons he jumped at the chance to host a UNITED. DELIVERED. match. He also wanted to bring this global football tour to the small group of United fans with whom he regularly plays – and perhaps gain a few more players or even some new Manchester United fans.

“To host the game with friends here in Oslo will give me an honor,” he wrote in his entry. “We are only a few United supporters who play together, and to actually host a UNITED. DELIVERED. match would showcase the club’s deep roots in helping supporters’ dreams. This can also open the eyes of fans of other clubs to big opportunities United fans get to be a part of.”

This can also open the eyes of fans of other clubs to the big opportunities United fans get to be a part of.

Simon Arnsale Tsehaye, UNITED.DELIVERED. match host

A big surprise
Simon may have been shocked when he was selected from hundreds of entries to host a UNITED. DELIVERED. match, but he says the real surprise came on match day when the turnout was bigger than expected. 

“We actually had to change our initial plan since the turnout was big,” he explained after the match.

They turned what was scheduled to be a 5-on-5 game into a full-scale, 11-a-side match on a standard – albeit snow-sprinkled – soccer pitch. Simon quickly improvised.

“We had to make it colored jerseys (red and yellow) vs. black jerseys,” he said.

It didn’t matter. What was important was coming together, playing the game they love, and being a part of something big.

“Having this game here – it’s bringing us all together from different parts, so it means a lot to us,” he said.

I can already feel the goosebumps.

Simon Arnsale Tsehaye

An even bigger opportunity
Simon now has another big moment to look forward to: his chance to travel to Old Trafford for a Manchester United match. And he certainly can’t hide his excitement.

“For me to get the chance to actually be there and see the game live and witness the likes of Pogba and co play inside the Theatre of Dreams…well, that would be a dream come true. I can already feel the goosebumps,” he told us.

And there’s more than one reason for that, he says. 

“I have been a longtime fan of Manchester United. I support the team by watching the games in a busy café in the crowded capital city of Addis Ababa in my home of Ethiopia. It was always full, and that atmosphere gave us the feeling of being right there in Old Trafford. Now I have the chance to experience that feeling for real.”

But the opportunity becomes even bigger when Simon reveals that he just tied the knot.

“I recently got married to the love of my life. A trip to Old Trafford would be make the perfect honeymoon.”

For a United fan, that not only sounds perfect, it sounds like the honeymoon of a lifetime.

Stay tuned for more
The UNITED. DELIVERED. matches will be held throughout the 2017/18 season. You can follow the Tour, check out pictures from each of the local matches, and lend your support to the red or yellow sides at each stop by visiting the UNITED. DELIVERED. page on InMotion, or following @DHLManUtd and #DHLUnitedDelivered on Twitter.

Register here to win the chance to host a match with the official UNITED. DELIVERED. football.