New York City FC, alongside sister Club Manchester City and main partner Etihad Airways, has delivered the fifth annual Young Leaders Summit, celebrating another positive year for the Club’s Cityzens Giving campaign by connecting the global network of community projects the Club supports.
Since 2014, Cityzens Giving has provided project funding and training for young people in 21 cities around the world to tackle social issues in their communities through the power of soccer. Over 20,000 children and young people have been impacted through the initiative so far, with 420 hours of Young Leader training in the fifth campaign so far.
Etihad Airways, the Official Summit Partner, flew the Young Leaders into Manchester, England to take part in the week-long program at City Football Academy. Leaders participated in a variety of workshops, both on and off the pitch, delivered by City in the Community (CITC) coaches to equip them with the skills and confidence to deliver soccer sessions in their local communities.
During the week, the group also met Manchester City women’s player Esme Morgan, gaining insight into her experiences of becoming a professional soccer player, and organized a ‘Same Goals’ soccer tournament, part of the Club’s wider Same City, Same Passion initiative, themed around the Women’s World Cup. This put into practice the skills they developed during their Young Leader training, alongside a soccer festival which invited children from schools across Manchester to the Etihad Campus to take part.
Cityzens Giving supports youth-led community soccer projects in global locations including New York City, Los Angeles, Beijing, Hanoi and Bangalore. Manchester City partners Etihad Airways, Xylem, SAP, SHB Bank and Nexen Tire also closely support projects and training in these cities by providing additional expertise in market.
Paul Jeffries, NYCFC Senior Director of Community Development, commented:
“Our NYCFC family is very proud to have five local Young Leaders from the five boroughs participate in the fifth annual Young Leaders Summit. They have shown incredible dedication and are using the power of soccer to bring communities together. One of our New York City Young Leaders, Kwame King, has taken a leadership role at this year’s Summit. Kwame’s growth from participant to leader is a great example of what this program is all about; we empower young people through increased responsibility, and they rise to the occasion.
“We want to thank our terrific partners at Etihad Airways and SAP for making Cityzens Giving a success and allowing us to grow the impact of our Young Leader training both locally here in New York City as well as around the world.”
