Manchester United FC partners with Xylem to provide water, education to children in Bangalore

Xylem, a leading global water technology company, has partnered with current Premier League Champions Manchester City F.C. to deliver clean water towers, WASH education, and sports and leadership training to communities in Bangalore, India – which will benefit over 5,000 children this year. The Cityzens Giving project ‘Water Goals,’ sponsored by Xylem, earned the top ranking among six projects in Manchester City’s annual ‘Cityzens Giving’ global community initiative, receiving more than 450,000 votes from football fans around the world.

Between February 13-16, Xylem, together with Manchester City F.C. and Xylem’s non-governmental organization (NGO) partner, Planet Water Foundation, built clean water filtration towers at two government primary schools in Bangalore, which will provide long-term, sustainable access to clean water for the surrounding community. Throughout the week, the organizations, along with local Cityzens Giving NGO partner Magic Bus, teamed up to deliver training to Young Leaders, with a focus on how education on water hygiene and sanitation can be taught through football. The week culminated in a community football festival for over 100 children from the local community.

Xylem is committed to creating social and economic value through innovative approaches and technologies that have a lasting impact on communities. The Water Goals project in Bangalore is part of Xylem’s ongoing social impact initiative, conducted by the company’s corporate citizenship program Watermark, alongside Xylem’s partner Planet Water Foundation, which is responsible for water tower construction.

Patrick Decker, Xylem President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We’re honored to support these important social impact initiatives, which will provide education and training and improve access to safe, clean water, benefitting over 5,000 children in Bangalore communities. Our partnership with Manchester City is about inspiring people of all ages to focus on water challenges in their communities. It’s also about mobilizing a global movement to help us embrace the opportunity of a lifetime – to solve water. We look forward to building on this momentum in the coming months.”

Ferran Soriano, Chief Executive of City Football Group, said: “We at City Football Group are very proud of Cityzens Giving. Once again, we are investing in the future through community football projects around the world and the inspirational Young Leaders who are using the power of football in the most positive ways imaginable. These young people have incredible stories and have committed themselves to using the world’s most loved, watched and played sport to impact their own communities and tackle social issues which need our support. We are proud to help them drive sustained change in their communities using our shared love for football.”

Despite Bangalore being one of the world’s fast-growing cities with its population increasing by 8 percent year-on-year, many of its 12.3 million residents do not have access to clean drinking water and are therefore at risk of contracting water-borne diseases. This not only affects their health but can also impact their education. Combining Xylem’s expertise in water technology with football and education sessions on water and sanitation, the Cityzens Giving project will increase access to safe water and reduce the risk of illness faced by thousands of children across Bangalore.

The Cityzens Giving project caps a record year for Xylem Watermark, which engaged ~45% of Xylem’s global employee base who collectively logged more than 53,000 volunteer hours giving back to local communities. Watermark also exceeded its three-year goal to log 100,000 employee volunteer hours.