- A community football pitch located next to the Etihad Stadium has been regenerated by Manchester City’s charity and C.P. Company.
- Joleon Lescott took part in an official blue ribbon opening ceremony alongside local youngsters.
- The opening ceremony marks the charity’s eighth pitch development in Greater Manchester since 2023.
Manchester City’s charity has unveiled a newly regenerated community football pitch, located close to the Etihad Stadium, supported by C.P. Company.
Bradford Park has been transformed through City in the Community’s ‘Healthy Goals’ initiative, which uplifts the physical and mental health of local young people by creating new community football pitches in Manchester, where the charity’s youth-led programmes are delivered.
The regeneration, which marks the charity’s eighth pitch development since 2023, was made possible through funding from C.P. Company, Manchester City’s Official Fashionwear Partner and the first partner of Healthy Goals.
To mark the opening, Manchester City Ambassador and former player Joleon Lescott cut a blue ribbon at a launch attended by local councillors, residents, and young people.
Speaking at the event, Joleon Lescott said:
“It was an honour to be part of the Bradford Park opening and to see first-hand the impact City in the Community is making through its Healthy Goals initiative.
“This pitch isn’t just a place to play — it’s a space where young people can grow in confidence, stay active, and feel proud of their community. It’s fantastic to see partners like CP Company getting behind this kind of work.”
The pitch’s design was inspired by a drawing by one young student from East Manchester, Waiden, whose name features on the final artwork alongside the message “There’s No Us Without You”, a core theme of C.P. Company’s community work.
To further celebrate the opening, C.P. Company invited a group of young community leaders from Milan and Marseille to Manchester, where they had the opportunity to enjoy the Club’s facilities, take part in sports activities, and learn more about the work of City in the Community coaches.
Launched in 2022 in Gorla, Milan, and continued in 2024 in Marseille’s Les Carmes district, the project promotes social inclusion among young people by revitalising underserved urban areas through the unifying power of sport. It aims to create inclusive spaces and shared experiences where youth can connect, play, and develop a strong sense of belonging.
C.P. Company President, Lorenzo Osti, added:
“At C.P. Company, communities have always been at the heart of what we do. For several years, we’ve promoted the project There Is No Us Without You, which uses sport, especially football, to foster inclusion, break down barriers, and serve as a powerful force for social cohesion. That’s why we’re proud to partner with City in the Community on a project that brings people together and drives meaningful, lasting change.”
C.P. Company’s support will enable City in the Community to renovate three community or school pitches in total.
Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon, Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods, Manchester City Council, added:
“Bradford Park’s transformation is a brilliant example of how we’re putting children and young people at the heart of our neighbourhoods. Creating safe, inclusive, and inspiring spaces like this supports our journey to becoming a UNICEF-recognised Child Friendly City — where every child has the opportunity to play, grow, and thrive.
“This regeneration also reflects the City’s commitment to enhancing green spaces that promote wellbeing and community pride. We’re proud to work alongside like-minded partners to make this vision a reality.”
–ENDS–
For more information, please contact Rachel.Clarkson@cityfootball.com.
About City in the Community:
City in the Community is Manchester City’s official charity, founded in 1986, and exists to empower healthier lives with city youth through football. The charity uses the hook of the Club to engage Greater Manchester in meaningful programmes, which are categorised by three outcome-based pillars: healthy people, healthy futures and healthy communities.
During the 2023/24 season, City in the Community delivered 17 programmes to over 16,000 participants across Greater Manchester, with an average contact time of 23.5 hours per person.
For more information, visit www.mancity.com/CITC.
About C.P. Company:
In 1971, Massimo Osti, a young graphic designer from Bologna who would go on to be recognised as the “godfather of urban sportswear,” founded the brand Chester Perry, famous for its screen-printed t-shirts. In 1978, he changed the name to C.P. Company. This drier, more mature name inaugurated one of the most explosive and influential bursts of creativity in the history of sportswear. Over the last decades, the brand has continued to pioneer a connoisseurial hybrid style that combines the functionality of vintage military, work and sportswear with intense fabric research and innovation, heightened by using garment dyeing, a technique which C.P. Company was the first brand in the world to pioneer in the mid-1970s. This hybridisation of functional menswear and Italian fabric innovation is the origin of C.P. Company and still today remains the basis of every piece of clothing to carry the C.P. Company label.
“There’s No Us Without You” was launched in 2022 in Gorla, Milan, and continued in 2024 in Marseille’s Les Carmes district. The project promotes social inclusion among young people by revitalising underserved urban areas through the unifying power of sport. It aims to create inclusive spaces and shared experiences where youth can connect, play, and develop a strong sense of belonging.
About Healthy Goals:
The Healthy Goals initiative was launched in 2023 and aims to uplift the physical and mental health of young people by creating new community football spaces in Manchester. Raising
£180,000 in the 2023/24 season, City in the Community regenerated multi-sports pitches at Ravensbury, St Wilfrid’s, Ashbury Meadow, Southern Cross and Holy Name in 2024 – all schools where the charity delivers its programmes.
The campaign followed the success of the City in the Community PlayZone project, which saw the charity build two new recreational areas, in Newton Heath and Withington. PlayZones are multi-functional football equipment including various sized football pitches and goals, football tennis zones, passing squares, benches, and floodlights.
