UAE’s national airline Etihad Airways and equity alliance partner, Jet Airways, will bring Manchester City FC football coaching clinics to India from December 1 to 8.

The football clinics, a grassroots programme for young children, are aimed at improving their technical football skills and will include coaching on positioning, dribbling, passing and shooting the ball, said a statement.

They are conducted in a fun atmosphere with much emphasis placed on teamwork and interacting with the coaches to benefit from their vast knowledge, it said.

This is the first joint initiative to be undertaken since the transaction for the purchase of 24 per cent of Jet Airways by Etihad Airways was concluded this month.  

A coaching team headed by Manchester City’s community ambassador Alex Williams, an ex-professional goalkeeper with the club, will visit Mumbai and Delhi to lead 11 training sessions for up to 1,000 children.

The airlines have also teamed up with Magic Bus, a non-governmental organisation that uses sports-based activities to create positive social change and improve the lives of youth in marginalised areas of India.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad’s chief commercial officer, said: “Etihad Airways has a proud tradition of hosting grass roots sporting events globally and we are very excited to be bringing our Manchester City FCfootball clinics to India to celebrate the completion of our partnership with our equity partner Jet Airways.

“We are also pleased to support Magic Bus and believe this is an excellent opportunity to promote football in the community and offer children the opportunity to receive training from some of Europe’s top coaches.”

Matthew Spacie, founder of Magic Bus, said: “We are extremely grateful to Etihad Airways and Jet Airways for inviting our children to participate in the Etihad Airways Manchester City Football Clinics. Besides mentoring, we also follow a sports-based curriculum to engage the children and ensure that they make the right choices from childhood, all the way through to better livelihoods as adults. We are sure this training will be very beneficial and our children will learn a lot of skills.”

The week-long activities will kick off in Mumbai with mall promotions at High Street Phoenix, Lower Parel followed by a four-day coaching programme in Mumbai. The team will then travel to Delhi where they will deliver a similar grassroots coaching programme and conclude with a major promotion at the DLF Emporio Mall, Vasant Kunj.

A competition across Etihad Airways and Jet Airways Facebook pages will offer Manchester City fans the chance to win prizes and branded merchandise. - TradeArabia News Service