That’s because our players enjoyed a number of activities across the city as the team visited the iconic Great Wall of China and engaged with fans at a free football festival, hosted by the Club. During the events, the players unveiled the new away kit for the first time.
Sergio Aguero, Kelechi Iheanacho, Samir Nasri and Nicolas Otamendi, as well as Elite Development Squad player James Horsfield, visited the Great Wall of China and showcased the new Nike away kit, against a world-famous backdrop.
New signing Nolito, Raheem Sterling, David Silva, Wilfried Bony, Willy Cabellero, Gael Clichy and Fabian Delph were presented to an excited crowd at the Manchester City Football Festival in the heart of the city. Building on the huge success of the Cityzens Weekend event in Manchester earlier this month, the Club continued the festival theme with this unique event for local fans in Beijing. Fans in attendance were the first in the world to see the new away kit in-person as the players took to the stage to showcase the new design.
The festival was visited by thousands of fans across the day who took part in activities including testing their football skills with City Football Services coaches and visiting the Club’s Fan Zone.
The players also took part in activities across the festival including an on-stage challenge, hosted by Etihad Airways, where players tried their hand at Chinese calligraphy with Sterling being crowned as the winner of the task. Etihad Airways also invited young fans to ask questions to the players in an entertaining exchange.
Whilst at the festival, players also met with representatives from Manchester City’s Young Leaders Programme who have spent the week taking part in a training programme, in partnership with SoccerWorld. The players took to the pitch to help the Young Leaders to deliver a community session with children from a Special Olympics school.
City ambassador, Mike Summerbee, also visited the festival to meet fans and take part in an exclusive Q&A session with them.
Omar Berrada, Manchester City Chief Operations Officer, commented: “We have been overwhelmed by the warm welcome that the players and staff have received in China and we were delighted to be able to host the Manchester City Football Festival to share our visit with local fans.
“The players were excited to get out and explore different parts of the city, especially a location as iconic as the Great Wall, and meet many of our passionate Chinese supporters.”
David Silva added: “It was fantastic to see so many of our Chinese fans at the festival. One of the great things about Tour is being able to see our fans all over the world in person. Beijing is an amazing place and we’re all looking forward to the game in the Bird’s Nest Stadium.”
