Produced with a special Dope Dye manufacturing process to reduce water consumption, the new kit pays tribute to a partnership with the Club’s global charity initiative, Cityzens Giving, and Official Water Technology Partner Xylem, which sees the launch of new football and safe water programmes across the world.
This innovative global programme will combine football-based education on water, sanitation and hygiene, with clean water access for communities in need.
All projects will benefit from funding, bespoke training for young people in leadership and community football from Manchester City community coaches, special PUMA kit and equipment drops, and the expertise of leading global water technology company, Xylem, to deliver innovative solutions to local water challenges.
The programme kicked off with the creation of a clean water tower in Mumbai, producing a safe and long-term supply of fresh drinking water for 1,800 people per day.
Varsha, a Young Leader in Mumbai, spoke about the water challenges in her community and how this project is helping to tackle the issue.
“Children here don’t have access to clean water. This leads to health problems, they fall ill, and then aren’t able to attend school. This results in a loss of studies and there is a chance their future gets spoiled,” she said.
“We use football as a tool to educate kids about the importance of water, sanitation and hygiene. And now a water tower has been installed which means the kids have access to clean drinking water.”
Reflecting on the experience of helping to build the water tower at a local school and what this means for the local community, Varsha added: “I had a lot of fun. This is the first time I have been involved in such project. I saw how the water filtering is done. It felt good to be involved in the whole experience.”
“This tower will provide access to filtered water for 1,800 people every day. One important effect will be that school attendance will increase as there will be fewer health problems. These children will get clean water which can help them make changes to have a better life.”
The School Chairman added: “The availability of clean water here will also help the college to develop a lot, as more children will be eager to get an education here. Since this is a very poor area, there are many people who cannot afford to travel far.
“So we can provide an education for local children, as well as clean drinking water to ensure their health is good and they aren’t worried about falling ill. I want to wholeheartedly thank all the organisations that are involved – Manchester City, Xylem, Planet Water and Magic Bus.”
Over the next twelve months, we aim to reach more than 10,000 young people in three continents, focusing on Manchester, São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Mumbai.
Reflecting on this unique collaboration, Randolf Waters, Director of Global Branding and Partnerships at Xylem, said: “Xylem is on a journey to create a community of action-taking water citizens.
“What makes this collaboration between Xylem, Cityzens Giving and PUMA so powerful is that it combines the innovative design of a jersey dedicated to water with campaigns that will raise awareness of the water crisis around the world and actual projects in communities in need to deliver life-saving water access and water education”.
Stay tuned this season as more projects get underway.
