Six cities. Six causes. Fans decide how funds are split.
Young leaders are changing lives through soccer around the world.
Cityzen’s Giving will once again be donating $500,000 and fans of New York City FC will vote on who the funding is split. The more votes a project gets, the more money it will receive.
This year’s six community soccer projects, which will be supported through funding and leadership training, are in New York City, Melbourne, Manchester, Mumbai, Philadelphia and Cape Coast, Ghana. The projects all use soccer as a tool to tackle challenging social issues.
Cityzens Giving projects are all run by Young Leaders. These Young Leaders have a love of soccer and a desire to make a difference. Projects focus on girls’ empowerment, social inclusion, safe water, connecting communities, education and providing safe spaces.
Over the course of the six-week campaign, fans will hear first-hand from the Young Leaders in each of the six projects and will be asked to play an active role in supporting their work by voting for the one that resonates with them the most.
The projects include:
City Girls engages girls at risk of dropping out of football through weekly, girls-only sessions that build their confidence and leadership skills in Manchester. They impact 900 lives every year.
Soccer Bloc uses the power of soccer to bring together 350 children and young people in safe spaces across the city each year, where they will make friends and celebrate New York City’s diversity.
Impacting 950 children and young people annually, I Speak Football will combine the universal languages of soccer and art to address social isolation, build connections and provide support that will help children and young people both in and out of school in Melbourne.
In Mumbai, Goals for Life will use football as a tool to enhance children’s education, give tuition to those who are struggling in school and provide support and mentoring to reduce drop-out rates. Goals for Life affects 375 lives annually.
In Cape Coast, Kicking for Change will combine soccer with life-saving education on water and sanitation, keeping 900 children at risk of illness from waterborne diseases healthy and in school each year.
Philadelphia’s Our Play, Our Voice will create a safe space to play by delivering regular soccer and art activities on a newly refurbished pitch, where children can build positive relationships and stay healthy.
Ferran Soriano, Chief Executive of City Football Group, said:
“At City Football Group we are incredibly proud of Cityzens Giving. Over the past five years the campaign has gone from strength to strength and we are passionate about letting our fans choose from projects around the world and empowering our Young Leaders to inspire their local communities.
“The sixth year of the Cityzens Giving campaign sees more young people than ever before connecting with their communities and using football to find solutions to the social issues they are facing. More than 10,000 young people around the world are now engaged each year through our Cityzens Giving projects.
“Our Cityzens decide where the effort and the money go, making a positive difference in the world through the power of football.”
Ferran Soriano – Chief Executive of City Football Group
The Cityzens Giving campaign runs until December 24. Keep an eye out for detailed stories of our six Young Leaders and their projects and make sure to choose your cause.
