Melbourne City FC is celebrating its ongoing commitment to the Victorian community by highlighting the work within the Club’s City in the Community (CITC) program during the week of February 15-21.
With social responsibility an essential part of the fabric of Melbourne City FC, CITC will be running several programs throughout the week, using the power of football to inspire, educate and create opportunities for men, women and youth of various social and multicultural backgrounds.
In partnership with VicHealth, the Club will engage with the senior community in Frankston North, Collingwood, North Melbourne and Geelong through the successful City Strikers program – an initiative designed to address multiple common barriers to sport participation for older people from multicultural backgrounds.
CITC also uses football for means of social change, with programs such as City Start and Yarra Pathways creating opportunities for young unemployed people and aspiring young footballers through the combination of football, leadership and job training skills.
The Club will use sport as a mechanism to promote social inclusion and engage homeless and marginalised people through the Big Issue Street Soccer program , whilst the City Soccer program serves to address anti-social behaviour among disconnected youths in the Sunshine area.
The Club will also tackle the issue of bulling by holding two Bully Zero School clinics in Pascoe Vale and Airport West, and will provide football coaching in visits to Pascoe Vale and Mount Waverley Primary School as part of the Sporting Schools Program.
In addition to the sports intervention projects, CITC will be engaging in fundraising activities during the Club’s Hyundai A-League clash against Central Coast Mariners at AAMI Park on Sunday 21 February.
Pre-match activations will commence at 3pm at the Club’s fan hub, City Square , including a Jump Rope for Heart skipping demo and a football clinic run by North Geelong Soccer Club – along with a special Didgeridoo performance from Ronnie Murray to underline the Club’s commitment to Indigenous Australians.
The match against the Central Coast Mariners will also be the Club’s annual Indigenous Recognition Match with Aboriginal children from Mildura United SC carrying Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags out onto the pitch leading the teams out.
