To celebrate Black History Month, former Manchester City player and City in the Community (CITC) Life President, Alex Williams MBE, visited a local primary school to speak to students about his life.

At Wilbraham Primary School, located close to Manchester City’s old, Maine Road stadium, Alex spoke to a group of Year Three students about how he overcame prejudice, never giving up and persevering with his footballing goals.  
 
Sharing stories from early in his career, the students were captivated by Alex’s speech and advice.  
 
Six participants were then surprised with a walk over the road to visit a mural, featuring Alex alongside other City stars, past and present.  
 
Commenting on the day, Alex said: “With it being Black History Month, it’s really important that we share stories and give hope to the young people of today.  
 
“However, I think it’s also vital that we maintain that work throughout the year, which is what we aim to do at CITC. 
 
“We’ve always been at the forefront of community activity, empowering people, improving people’s lives.” 
 
Andrew Marchant, Head Teacher at Wilbraham Primary School said: “Alex was able to deliver some really important messages around resilience, commitment, growth, compassion and other key values. 
 
“The way in which he used real life experiences, humour and warmth ensured the children responded well to him. This allowed for an interactive experience in which Alex was able to validate and encourage children’s responses.  
 
“Overall, it was an overwhelmingly positive experience for the children of Wilbraham, it allowed them to see and believe what might be possible with hard work and commitment.” 
 
Wilbraham works in partnership with CITC, who deliver the Premier League Primary Stars programme, which aims to promote healthier lives through football and sits under the charity’s ‘Healthy People’ pillar.  
 
With thanks to the Premier League Charitable Fund for their support of City in the Community’s work. 
 
 City in the Community empowers healthier lives with city youth through football. To find out more, visit  www.mancity.com/citc or follow @citcmancity.