Manchester City And Xylem Call On Football Fans To Vote For Young Water Heroes Tackling Global Water Issues

Manchester City Football Club’s global community program, Cityzens Giving, and global water technology leader, Xylem (NYSE: XYL) are calling on football fans to vote for their top project as the Water Heroes Academy returns for a second year. From November 22 to December 5, fans from around the world can vote for one of five new football and water projects from young leaders working to tackle global water issues in Buenos Aires, Cape Coast, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, and Mexico City.

Young leaders involved in this year’s program are using the power of football to provide essential education on water, sanitation, and hygiene in a bid to tackle water challenges specific to their communities. Projects include improving access to safe water in underserved communities in Buenos Aires and Cape Coast, building flood-resilient communities in Mexico City and Kuala Lumpur, and advancing water sustainability education in Melbourne.

The top-voted project will win the opportunity for young leaders to experience a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Etihad Stadium. There, they will learn more about water challenges and solutions, and receive further training on how they can help improve the health and well-being of young people in their communities. Each of the Water Heroes Academy projects will receive funding, educational tools, training, and mentoring from Xylem and Cityzens Giving, providing young leaders the resources needed to create their own unique programs going forward.

The Water Heroes Academy is a joint initiative by Cityzens Giving and Xylem that aims to positively impact 20,000 young people over the next four years. Last year, the program engaged more than 75 young water leaders and delivered vital education to more than 6,000 young people in São Paulo, Mumbai, Cape Town, New York City, and Shanghai. Mumbai was the winning project, having received thousands of fan votes. Delivered in collaboration with Magic Bus India Foundation, the project aimed to improve local access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.

“In my community, many children aren’t able to access clean water in school, which means they fall ill and can no longer attend class due to poor health,” said Varsha, a Young Leader from the Mumbai Team. “The opportunity to better the lives of people in my community through awareness and education motivates me. I’m incredibly proud to contribute to the development of my community and make a positive difference in the lives of young people through my experience with the Water Heroes Academy.”

“We’re thrilled to be working with Xylem to spotlight five more of our inspiring Water Heroes Academy projects around the world, celebrating our Cityzens Giving young leaders who are all making such an important impact in their local communities,” said Tom Pitchon, Global Foundation Director at City Football Group. “It was fantastic to welcome our Mumbai water heroes to Manchester last season, and we look forward to welcoming young leaders from the top-voted project this year, so vote now!”

“We are incredibly proud of our partnership with Manchester City and the global network of young water leaders created through the Water Heroes Academy program,” said Randolf Waters, Senior Director of Global Partnerships & Branding at Xylem. “In spotlighting the work these incredible water leaders are doing locally, we hope to inspire more young people to get involved in tackling water issues and drive positive change on a global level. I encourage football fans to get behind our water heroes and vote for their favorite project.”

To hear the story of each project and to vote for your top project, visit: www.mancity.com/waterheroes

About Xylem

Xylem (XYL) is a leading global water technology company committed to solving critical water and infrastructure challenges with innovation. Our 17,000 diverse employees delivered revenue of $5.2 billion in 2021. We are creating a more sustainable world by enabling our customers to optimize water and resource management and helping communities in more than 150 countries become water secure. Join us at www.xylem.com.

About Manchester City Football Club

Manchester City FC is an English Premier League club initially founded in 1880 as St Mark’s West Gorton. It officially became Manchester City FC in 1894 and has since then gone onto win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, eight League Championship titles, including six Premier League titles (2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022), and six FA Cups. Manchester City FC is one of 12 clubs comprising the City Football Group and counts New York City FC and Melbourne City FC among its sister clubs.

Under manager Pep Guardiola, one of the most highly-decorated managers in world football, the Club plays its domestic and UEFA Champions League home fixtures at the Etihad Stadium, a spectacular 55,000 seat arena that City have called home since 2003. Today, the Stadium sits on the wider Etihad Campus, which also encompasses the City Football Academy, a state-of-the-art performance training and youth development facility located in the heart of East Manchester. Featuring a 7,000 capacity Academy Stadium, the City Football Academy is also where Manchester City Women’s Football Club and the Elite Development Squad train on a daily basis and play their competitive home games.

For more information, please visit www.mancity.com.

About Cityzens Giving

Cityzens Giving is an award-winning global programme, empowering young leaders to use football as a tool to uplift the health of children and young people in cities around the world. Projects are run by young people for young people, with fans, staff and partners across City Football Group getting involved in diverse ways, from volunteering and fundraising to donating and having a say in how projects are supported. In addition to long-term grant funding, young leaders access training in community football and leadership from our Club community coaches and networking opportunities with other community football projects worldwide. This includes face to face training in country, remote support, and regular global gatherings to facilitate the flow of know-how and learning. Each year, Cityzens Giving supports over 1,000 Young Leaders to positively impact the health of thousands of young people in 25 cities across the globe.

For more information, please visit https://www.mancity.com/community/global-projects.

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Contact information

Houston Spencer
+1 (914) 240-3046
Houston.Spencer@xylem.com