In part two of our special feature - Manchester City in the MLS - Steve Brenner looks at the stellar work already being carried out by the Abu Dhabi-club that has perhaps gone unnoticed...
PART I: A great American adventure awaits Man City and Sheikh Mansour
Anyone thinking Manchester City’s American push is just a wild stab in the dark only needs to scratch the surface of what Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy prime minister of the UAE and minister of presidential affairs, has been doing away from the watchful gaze of planet football.
He may have invested millions on helping City conquer the Premier League and become a heavyweight rival to Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, but the money quietly spent in the US on community programmes – no more than $ 10million (Dh36.7m) – has laid some fantastic foundations which have reverberated strongly in the Big Apple.
This coming Saturday, Sheikh Mansour is expected to be announced as the new owner of the much coveted 20th MLS franchise in New York. It’s a bold, new adventure for Abu Dhabi.
Three years in the making
Yet May 25 isn’t the day this all begins. In fact, you need to turn the clock back three years to identify the moment when City signalled their intentions to become a force in the United States.
In 2010 following the Abu Dhabi United Group’s takeover, the club began establishing their non-profit City soccer in the community programmes, reaching out to over 4,000 children in the inner cities, providing them with coaching and pitches.
What began with the building of a soccer centre in Harlem, complete with a blue dome enabling play any day and in any conditions, has grown into a project which has touched many areas of this vast country. The soccer centres in East LA, Miami, New York, Chicago and Washington have all gone down a storm.
City are the only club in world football providing such a dedicated, driven project to children in the US or beyond.
Forget the idea of Sheikh Mansour just rolling into the Big Apple, grabbing the franchise and beginning to plot for the future. This is a plan, from both a business and sporting viewpoint, which makes perfect sense. It’s about building the foundations.
They know the American market is booming like never before. The scope for millions to be made by marketing and sponsorship alone is monumental. Furthermore, all the best young talents will be found in the areas City are touching right now. Places where children can only dream of making it out of the depravity and head towards a meaningful future.
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Head into the big City: The Abu Dhabi-owned club making great stides in the US.
Gary Hopkins, City’s International development supremo, a man with over 25 years experience of working in the American soccer scene, paints an enthusiastic, driven picture of just what the Abu Dhabi money has done for the future of the club in the States.
The net is being cast far and wide in anticipation of the club becoming the global brand to rival their cross city rivals in red – with a superbly solid framework already in place which is leaving other European superpowers in its wake.
“Speak to anyone involved in US soccer and they will all say the same thing – Manchester City have come here and they are doing things right. We’ve been working alongside them for three years now, helping soccer grow,” Hopkins told Sport 360°.
“This all began with the takeover. City came out in 2010, trained in Portland, played games in New York, Atlanta and Baltimore. When we were in New York it was a mandate from the UAE that they wanted us to leave a legacy behind. So we started to look at the possibilities of what we could do and we came up with the idea of building a soccer field for inner city kids.
“We got a clear mandate from the UAE that we have to be working in the community, we have to be giving something back, doing good things with the kids. Sheikh Mansour, together with Yousef Al Otaiba ambassador for the UAE in Washington is a co-founder, part of the project and is a huge football fan.
“You get the aura of being one of the richest clubs in the world and that’s great. You can buy all the best players in the world and that is great for the fans and the club. But you can also do great things. And what we have found is there has been a real desire from the Sheikh to want to do good things in the community.
"All our focus in the US has been about giving something back while laying down things at the same time. The ambassador plays football with the kids when he gets the chance – they think he’s a cool guy – and he is. It breaks down barriers. What better way to smash stereotypes than soccer? They are fully engaged. This isn’t just a press moment for them.”
Market leaders
It’s a massive time for the MLS though – their chance to start really getting their claws into a top European team. Matt Higgins, CEO of New York based RSE Ventures – a sports entertainment holding company – is an expert on what makes American teams tick and has been blown away by City’s boldness.
“It’s a visionary move by Manchester City in terms of setting out their youth programmes and extending their brand through the MLS and I will be surprised if more clubs don’t follow them in the future,” said Higgins who has played major executive roles at the likes of the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets in the NFL.
“There is a fan base to be cultivated in the United States and now, because of the new NBC TV deal (which begins from next season) there is more content available now than ever before. It’s a great time to do it. Making sure the clubs are reaching out to the kids is vitally important too.
“People think its a smart move. You can’t think locally – it has to be global. The marketplace in the US is very strong right now. Chelsea have been doing a lot of work, PSG are getting more involved while AC Milan have become very interested as to how they can enter the marketplace. Look at what is happening. City’s game v Chelsea in St Louis on Wednesday sold out in three hours.”
In Queens – the highly culturally diverse melting pot where the New York City FC will be based – matches are likely to be the hottest tickets around too. The thousands of football mad Mexicans, Colombians and Hondurans cannot wait for kick-off in 2016. It’s a marketing man’s dream – something the Red Bulls have failed to nail.
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The new generation: Children at one of City's many soccer schools.
Milton Ospina, a Colombian who has played in Flushing Meadow Park – the area where the new stadium will be built – for over 20 years knows what a positive affect it will have on the community.
People in Queens won’t go to New Jersey to see the Red Bulls while the Cosmos, who will play in the division below the MLS after failing to outbid City, will struggle to capture the imagination performing away from the big time.
He said: ”It will fantastic for Queens and the people here. There have been no efforts from the Red Bulls to try and get us to the stadium. This will be different though. I can’t wait to take my kids to the matches and it will create jobs.
“There are thousands of people playing amateur soccer here. The interest will be massive. “Football is a passion for us in Queens and having Manchester City’s franchise playing in the area will be brilliant.”
Soccer schools in New York City... and beyond
NEW YORK
Bronx
Manhattanville
4x Harlem
Hell's Kitchen
Midtown West
2x Chelsea
West Village
Lower East Side
3x Chinatown
Brooklyn
MIAMI
CHICAGO
LOS ANGELES
READ MORE:
- A great American adventure awaits Man City and Sheikh Mansour
- Man City plan global growth on Abu Dhabi model
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