Held at multiple locations across Greater Manchester, the programme uses the power of football to encourage children aged two to five, and their parents, to live a healthy and active lifestyle from a young age.
The programme curriculum has been specifically designed to have a greater impact on not just physical and mental wellbeing of families but also empower parents to embed a healthy lifestyle at home.
The sessions aim to develop skills, confidence and self-esteem when interacting with their child in any settings, at no charge to participants.
Sessions on offer AT City Play Together:
Tuesdays:
• Ashbury Meadow SureStart Centre (M11 3NA) - 09:30am-11:00am (aligned to neighbouring postcodes)
• Moss Side Leisure Centre (M15 5NN) - 11:30am-12:30am
• Mount Road Gorton SureStart Centre (M18 7BG) - 1:00pm-2:30pm
Wednesdays:
• Longsight SureStart Centre (M13 0QX) - 9:45am-11:15am (aligned to neighbouring postcodes)
• Big Life Group Longsight Nursery (M13 0QX) - 1:20pm-2:20pm (session delivered to nursery parents)
• Martenscroft SureStart Centre (M15 6PA) - 3:30pm-4:30pm
Thursdays:
• National Football Museum (M4 3BG) 10:30am-11:30am (delivered biweekly)
• Ronald McDonald House (M13 0BH) 1:30pm-3pm (for families in RMCH or staying at Ronald McDonald House)
Reflecting on their time at the City Play sessions, one parent said: “Me and my son feel better after the session because we’ve been physically active and were connected with other parents and kids.”
Another parent added: “Having the sessions in the leisure centre is great because we can use the library and you’re more aware of things going on in the community.”
Sitting under CITC’s Healthy People pillar, the programme centres on physical and mental wellbeing.
During the 2024/2025 season, the programme reached 2,390 unique participants with an average of 24 hours contact time.
To find out more about the programme, visit: mancity.com/cityplaytogether
If you want to support City in the Community and its work, enter this month’s Prize Draw competition, for the chance to win a Team Photo Experience, Match Tickets and more.
ENTER THE CITC MONTHLY PRIZE DRAW
The City in the Community Prize Draw is powered by Raise Your Game and your support will go towards sustaining the charity’s programmes, which empower healthier lives through football.
Entries start at £5 per ticket; fans can enter on a one-off basis, or they can sign up to a direct debit, meaning they enter the draw monthly automatically. *
City in the Community empowers healthier lives through football.
To find out more, visit www.mancity.com/citc or follow @citcmancity on social media.
*Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Cambodia, Qatar, Lebanon, and North Korea are the only excluded countries from the prize draw.
