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.
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 Embassys 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 Citys 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 Citys 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, were 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 a 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 Citys Social Responsibility
Manchester City FC was founded in 1880 by the family of Arthur
Connell, the first rector of the newly consecrated St Marks 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
