MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL AND CITY IN THE COMMUNITY LAUNCH JOINT INVESTMENT IN COMMUNITY SPORTS FACILITIES
Manchester City Council and City in the Community (CITC) have launched a joint £222,000 investment programme to improve five free-to-access Multi Use Games Areas (MUGAs) across Manchester, creating more active, healthier and better-connected neighbourhoods, empowering healthier lives through football.
The partnership began with improvements to facilities in Hulme, Miles Platting & Newton Heath, Clayton & Openshaw, Harpurhey and Moston. The funding brings together investment from Manchester City Council and CITC, including dedicated support for community engagement, site activation and targeted activity programmes for underrepresented groups.
The programme responds to identified gaps in community sports provision, with the city’s Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sports Strategy highlighting a shortage of MUGAs and increasing demand for high-quality, accessible facilities. This joint investment will help transform underused courts into welcoming, inclusive spaces where people of all ages and abilities can be active closer to home.
Alongside the physical improvements, CITC will lead activations and ongoing programming to ensure the facilities are well used and deliver lasting benefits for local residents.
CITC also involved local schoolchildren in shaping the design of the refurbished MUGAs by inviting them to develop ideas for the centre-circle artwork. This work has brought local creativity and identity to life through five unique art installations, while helping young people feel proud of, and connected to, the spaces they helped shape. It also reflects CITC’s and MCC’s wider commitment to involving local communities in the development of local shaping sports facilities and inspiring lifelong participation in physical activity.
The programme supports Manchester’s ambition to create healthier communities, reduce inequalities and strengthen neighbourhoods by investing in local assets that widen access to sport, leisure and physical activity.
By prioritising free and low-cost opportunities in areas of greatest need, the joint programme will help reduce barriers to participation, tackle health inequalities and support more residents to enjoy the benefits of being active in high-quality community spaces.
Councillor Shazia Butt, Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Libraries
“Manchester City Council are committed to ensuring that everyone in Manchester has access to high-quality places to be active close to home, regardless of where they live. This partnership with City in the Community is a fantastic example of organisations working together to invest in neighbourhood facilities that local people can use free of charge.
These improvements will transform important community spaces and create more opportunities for children, young people and residents of all ages to get active, connect with others and enjoy the benefits of sport and physical activity. Through the Our Manchester vision and Sport and Physical Activity Strategy, we are focused on creating healthier communities, reducing inequalities and strengthening neighbourhoods, and this investment programme will play an important role in helping us achieve those ambitions.”
Michael Geary – Chief Executive Officer, City in the Community
“We’re incredibly proud to be working alongside Manchester City Council to invest in spaces that sit right at the heart of our local communities.
“For us, this is about much more than improving the physical facilities. By listening to local people, involving young people in shaping the spaces and providing ongoing activity once the work is complete, we can help create places that communities feel genuinely connected to and want to use.
“Removing barriers to physical activity is central to our purpose of empowering healthier lives through football, and this partnership will help more people across Manchester access safe, welcoming and high-quality spaces to get active, connect with others and enjoy the benefits of sport.”
