New York City FC community football campaign, Cityzens Giving, is asking fans to decide how the club and its partners will distribute 500,000 USD between six football social inclusion projects in cities across the world. 

Fans can vote until Christmas Eve on six community-based projects run by inspiring young leaders that use the power of football to tackle social issues affecting people in their cities including obesity, unemployment, social inclusion, substance abuse, and safety and crime.

This year's nominees include New York City (US) Healthy lifestyles programme, which works to get children fitter and healthier; Manchester (UK) Boots and Beats project that uses football and music to connect young people to volunteering, work related training and employee mentoring; and, a Mexico City (Mexico) community project, which is regenerating a local community by building a football pitch and creating a safe space for young people to play, learn and connect.

The other three nominees are: Melbourne (Australia) I Speak Football, which uses football to bring young people from different communities together to reduce isolation; a Bandung-based (Indonesia) initiative that uses football to engage with street children and connect them with specialised support to deal with the threat of drug abuse and other challenges, including HIV and AIDS; and, football sessions in Beijing (China) aimed at breaking down barriers, build friendships and create an inclusive environment for children and young people of all abilities.

“When I look back at where this project started and what we have achieved, I feel really proud. It’s given me a purpose, a set of skills, and most importantly to me, a group of people that I can call my family”, said Albert, 23, one of the young leaders responsible for the I Speak Football project.

On the campaign's third year, the New York club and the City Football Group, which comprises New York City FC, Manchester City and Melbourne City, are hoping fans will vote for the project they find most inspiring. The more votes a project gets, the more funding it will receive.

By 2017 City Football Group and its partners will have donated more than 1.8 million USD to Cityzens Giving and in addition to this year’s initiatives, the group will continue to fund projects in São Paulo (Brazil), Cape Coast in Ghana, Kolkata (India), Cape Town (South Africa), Barranquilla (Colombia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

Fans and football enthusiasts can find out more about each project and vote on Cityzens Giving website.