NYCFC Supports Youth Leaders Tacking Social Issues
New York City FC and Etihad Airways conclude a week of addressing social issues as their third Citizens Giving Young Leaders Summit was a huge success. The week-long program provided leaders from 12 global cities with the opportunity to take part in a variety of on and off-the-pitch workshops.
At SoccerToday, we believe strongly in soccer being a uniting force and applaud those who step up as leaders, helping others.
Soccer News: New York City Football Club (NYCFC) and Etihad Airways have partnered to develop youth leaders around the world who are tackling social issues in their local communities.
Returning for its third year, the Cityzens Giving Young Leaders Summit welcomed more than 50 young leaders from City Football Group’s global network of community projects to state-of-the-art training facility, City Football Academy, which is home of NYCFC affiliate club, Manchester City FC. The week-long event provided attendees with the opportunity to develop and enhance their community soccer leadership and coaching skills.
As the Official Summit Partner, Etihad Airways provided attending individuals with flights to Manchester.
16 returning leaders from New York City, Manchester, Melbourne, Cape Town, Kuala Lumpur, Barranquilla, Kolkata and São Paulo co-delivered the Summit to their peers and new leaders from projects in Beijing, Bandung (Indonesia), Mexico City and Abu Dhabi.
The delegates, aged 16-30, have been delivering community soccer projects in their local communities. These projects address a range of issues affecting young people, including gang violence, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, obesity as well as safe spaces created for children to play soccer.
In New York City, the young leaders deliver programs that use soccer to tackle social issues around health, education and crime prevention as part of the City in the Community (CITC) charity. These CITC programs serve more than 4,000 young people from across the boroughs each week.
“The Young Leaders Summit amazed me and it opened up my eyes and mind to the world,” said Ebrahim Konteh, a 19-year-old young leader from the Bronx.
“I learned not only how to coach children, but also how to motivate them, treat them and keep them happy,” said Konteh. “I met 60 different amazing young leaders. I learned from them about different cultures and how they work with kids in their countries.”
“I learned about their struggles and how they overcame those struggles using soccer.”
“We are extremely proud that our community footprint continues to grow and develop every year – both locally where City Football Group has Clubs in Manchester, New York City and Melbourne but also globally,” said Omar Berrada, Chief Operating Officer of NYCFC sister Club, Manchester City FC.
“This Summit epitomizes the power of football to change lives and we’re delighted to be working with Etihad Airways to connect the young leaders together.
“Etihad Airways has a duty to contribute to communities around the world,”said Patrick Pierce, Vice President, Marketing Partnerships at Etihad Airways. “By flying delegates into Manchester for Cityzens Giving Young Leader Summit, we are honored to connect young people who seek to address complex social issues in their home cities. This is another powerful example of using the medium of football to lift young people out of trouble, into safety and on the path to a more stable and prosperous future.”
The week also saw leadership master classes from Club experts including members from City Football Group’s Leadership Team as well as more practical sessions on event and project management, safeguarding and monitoring and evaluation.
On the final day, leaders put all their newly found knowledge and experience into practice as they organized and delivered two highly successful soccer festivals for 240 local school children and Manchester City FC fans.
Photo Credit: New York City FC
