By Tom Parsons
November 6 – Manchester City have unveiled their first ever annual Christmas photo which stars first team players such as Joe Hart and Jesus Navas as well as former Manchester City player and local legend Mike Summerbee.
With just under 50 sleeps to go until Christmas, Manchester City hope to celebrate the holiday season with their fans with classic festive offerings and activities as well as giving supporters the chance to be part of their Cityzens giving scheme.
Along with the launch of the Christmas photograph, the club has launched their 2015 Xmas retail line which includes a classic Manchester City jumper and a City glad snowman amongst other typical Christmas gifts.
In the photograph, Joe Hart and Eliaquin Mangala both sport the Christmas jumper which has special significance as for every jumper purchased on their website or in the club shop The City Football Group will donate an extra 5 pounds to Cityzens giving projects around the world.
The scheme is part of a wider operation which launched in November and was made possible by a £400,000 donation from The City Football Group and its partners. One of the main aims of the Cityzens giving scheme is to help young leaders in six cities around the world to use football to tackle tough challenges affecting their communities. It is widely helped by fan participation who decide how funds are split between the cities.
Other things Manchester City are all doing this Christmas include CityTV’s now legendary advent calendar which fans can sit back relax and enjoy it as of 1st December. Who can forget last season when Aleksander Kolarov sung some of our favourite Christmas songs as part of the calendar!
Santa Stroll which is one of City In The Community’s iconic fundraising events returns to the Etihad campus on 6th December and will see the City immersed in a sea of skyblue Santas for the sixth year running. The 5 km course will meander through the academy before finishing pitch side at the Etihad Stadium. This CITC scheme creates opportunities, build futures and touches lives in a unique way. There will be other events available during the Santa stroll including a snowboard simulator.