EPL teams set up soccer developments

Two giants of British football will soon set up grassroots soccer development structures to help young local dreamers to realise their dreams and also uplift the local game.

Manchester City Football Club and its counterpart Arsenal have signed a sponsorship deal with South African Breweries’ Hansa Pilsener brand, which will see the two clubs setting up local structures to boost the development of the game at grassroots level.

Manchester City, which has already established relationships with the likes of the Mpumalanga Black Aces Football Academy in Linksfield and the Alexandra Northrand Local Football Association, will seek to strengthen and develop these already existing ties.

For Arsenal, it will be starting from scratch and setting up the various structures. “Our long-standing history will put us in good stead as we endeavour to establish ties and set up the infrastructure for the development of grassroots football,” said Arsenal representative, Sam Stone at the unveiling of the sponsorship.

“We at Manchester City Football Club Academy have already been active in development structures with Aces and Alexandra, and what we shall be doing from now is strengthening these existing relationships and taking them to a new level, to ensure we contribute our bit to the development of grassroots football,” said Manchester City representative, Nick Pinder.

“Hansa is a beer brewed for dreamers and it’s a brand that represents pulling out all the stops until you reach your goal. This relationship will also see the development of football dreamers to ensure their aspirations are also fulfilled,” said Hansa Pilsener general manager, Khensani Nobanda.

“Hurdles for our young football dreamers may seem difficult but it takes drive, self-belief and resilience to overcome them. We believe that these two teams will inspire our dreamers to chase their own dreams,” Nobanda added.