Street Reds uniting the city

The event, hosted by the Premier League, saw participants from Manchester United Foundation and City in the Community come together as part of the Premier League Kicks project. Di Maria and Rojo were joined by City star Pabalo Zabaleta with the Argentinian trio involved in shooting and passing drills with participants from both clubs.

The session, which took place at the Manchester College in Ardwick, marked the second time this month that the two Manchester clubs’ community teams have joined forces, having recently travelled to London for the Premier League Kicks Cup finals at Hackney Marshes.

Manchester United Foundation Community Cohesion Manager, Dawn Bracegirdle, said: “Kicks is a very popular project and makes a huge difference to the lives of young people across Manchester. At a grassroots level football is the common interest between our communities and club rivalry isn’t so important. We have City fans at our Manchester United kicks sessions and vice versa and as a result both United and City have helped to develop stronger, safer and more respectful communities within Manchester.”

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore said: “All of our clubs have a fantastic track record in terms of investing in and delivering good cause and grass roots sport initiatives. This event is one example of the community work undertaken by Manchester City and Manchester United and shows that while they may be rivals on the pitch, off it they are committed to providing opportunities for young people in the local area to play sport.”