“Gooooaaalll!” Kids of Miami-Dade Score With New Soccer Field

MIAMI, FL (9 March 2012) — Today, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade unveiled a new, first-class soccer field at its Hank Kline Club facility located in Miami.  The FIFA approved synthetic soccer field will introduce the sport of soccer to the kids of the Hank Kline Club and directly benefit hundreds of children served by the Club in the Miami community.  In addition, the Hank Kline Boys & Girls Club will also provide coached soccer programs for kids on a year-round basis.

Innovative Partnership Between Manchester City and UAE Embassy Provides First-Class Playing Field and Coaching for Kids at Boys & Girls Club in Miami

The field was a gift to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Embassy in Washington, DC.  The initiative is part of the Embassy’s partnership with the English Premier League soccer team, Manchester City Football Club, which first began when the Team toured the United States in the summer of 2010.  
 
The Embassy and Manchester City have teamed up to provide deserving children access to quality playing fields in US communities along with Manchester City’s award winning and complimentary coaching and education programs.   Currently leading the English Premier League, and  2011  FA Cup winners,  Manchester City Football Club is owned by His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan – a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family.
 
UAE Ambassador to the United States Yousef Al Otaiba, Mike Summerbee, Manchester City’s Club Ambassador, and hundreds of kids were in attendance to celebrate the opening of the field this afternoon.
 
“We are incredibly thankful and excited for this gift to our community,” said Alex Rodriguez-Roig, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade. “Bringing the sport of soccer to this community will give our kids a terrific opportunity to learn this wonderful game from a world-class organization.  Our entire area will benefit from this soccer field now and for generations to come.”

“We are delighted to be a part of bringing the sport of soccer to this fabulous community,” said Ambassador Al Otaiba.  “The Hank Kline Boys & Girls Club offers vital support and programming for hundreds of kids throughout this area.  The Club is an important and deserving organization to receive this field.”

The City in the Community (CSITC) program will provide ongoing support, coaching and quality programming for this community field in the years ahead.
 
Sarah Lynch, Managing Director of City in the Community, said “Social responsibility and community engagement are deep seated in Manchester City Football Club's heritage. Everyone who gets involved with our club becomes part of the 'City family,’ and for that reason, we’re delighted to extend our reach into the Miami-Dade community.”
 
This is the third soccer field that the UAE Embassy and Manchester City have worked together to build and gift in the US.  In the summer of 2010, the organizations teamed up to dedicate a roof-top field at Lexington Academy School (PS 72) in Spanish Harlem, New York City, and in the fall of 2011, The Boys & Girls Club of East Los Angeles received field at their facility.  The programs have benefited each community and have served as models to bring soccer programming and facilities to additional US cities around the country like Miami.  Additional fields are planned for other US communities in 2012.
 
About Manchester City’s Social Responsibility
 Manchester City FC was founded in 1880 by the family of Arthur Connell, the first rector of the newly consecrated St Mark’s Church in West Gorton. The family believed that football can create opportunities and a sense of community, a belief that remains at the heart of the Club to this day. 25 years ago, MCFC was one of the first football clubs to set up a Community scheme, City in the Community. Each year, City in the Community works with over 200,000 people throughout Greater Manchester, with a particular focus on our local East Manchester community.
 
In recent years, the Club has taken its CSR programme to an international audience, creating community opportunities in the USA and the United Arab Emirates. Manchester City has been supporting its communities for over 130 years and, to this day, still aims to leave a lasting and significant legacy in all the communities which it touches.
 
About The United Arab Emirates
The UAE is a source of stability, tolerance, innovation, and growth in the Arabian Gulf and around the globe. The United States and the UAE are reliable allies, with historical and present-day shared security and economic interests. In fact, the UAE is the largest export market for US goods in the Middle East and more US naval vessels visit UAE ports than any other port outside the United States.  The United States and the UAE also enjoy growing social and cultural ties, and many US institutions in education, healthcare and the arts have formed collaborative partnerships with UAE entities.  For more information: www.uae-embassy.org.
 
For more information:  www.city-soccer.org

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