For the first time, New York City FC’s City Select teams, comprised of some of the most promising players from the Club’s 11 youth affiliates, will head to Manchester to train, compete and to watch Manchester City in action from Etihad Stadium.
There will be a pair of one-week trips for two groups, the first for U-13 players is from April 22-May 1 and the second, for 2004/2005 players will be from May 1-8.
“We are really excited to be sending our first City Select teams over to the CFA in Manchester next week,” New York City FC, Sporting Director Claudio Reyna said. “This is one of the many great benefits of our Youth Affiliate program and a tremendous way to embed our Youth Affiliate Clubs within the wider City Family. The trip will be incredibly beneficial for the players, but also for a number of coaches who will be joining us from the affiliates. We look forward to doing this regularly moving forward.”
Each group will be comprised of 17-18 players with representatives from each of the 11 New York City FC youth affiliates.
“The affiliate coaches will spend a lot of time with the Manchester City academy coaches” Reyna said. “The idea here is that we can help impart the City ways of playing football on these coaches so they can take back to New York and use it to develop better players. I’m sure it will be very beneficial and a great experience for both groups.”
The team will be staying and training at the state-of-the-art City Football Academy. They will play one friendly against a Manchester City youth team and an additional one against an outside opponent. The players will also attend Manchester City home matches during their stay.
“The kids are going to get an amazing 360 view of the City organization,” Reyna said. “From staying on the Etihad Campus at the CFA to watching some major first team matches at the Etihad Stadium - it should really give them a feel for soccer at the highest level - and we hope it proves to be very inspiring for them.”
The youth affiliates are an important part of NYCFC’s development pyramid, that also includes the NYCFC Academy teams, the Long Island Rough Riders in the Premier Development League and the Wilmington Hammerheads in the USL.
While NYCFC’s Academy teams have already competed abroad in Bolivia and Spain, this will be the first time a group of City Select youth affiliate players and coaches will represent the Club oversees.
“The Youth Affiliate clubs are a major component of our development pathway,” Reyna said. “We want to give them every opportunity that we have at our disposal to make them the best they can be for young aspiring players in the New York area.”
TAKE A LOOK AT THE FULL LIST OF NEW YORK CITY FC YOUTH AFFILIATES
