City in the Community NY (CITC), the nonprofit foundation and charitable arm of New York City FC, and New York University School of Professional Studies (NYU SPS) are collaborating on a YouthInnovation and Sport Day on July 10. The Day will serve as a forum for participants, focused on the impact of major sports events, such as the FIFA World Cup, and on innovation in sports, including artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
The Youth Innovation and Sport Day will bring together NYU students and participants from the Foundation's Youth Leadership Summit. Participants of the Summit are young leaders from FIFA World Cup 2026 host cities across the United States taking part in leadership development, community football training, innovation and workforce programming, and youth-led project development designed to strengthen the next generation of community leaders across the country.
“This Youth Innovation and Sport Day reflects what City in the Community believes the FIFA World Cup can achieve at its best: using the global spotlight of the tournament to create meaningful local opportunity,” said Bailee Eaglin, City in the Community Executive Director. “By connecting young people with civic leaders, industry experts, and one another, we’re helping turn a global sporting moment into leadership, workforce pathways, and lasting community impact.”
NYU SPS is also supporting the Summit through on-campus accommodations for participants, in addition to designing programming led by NYU faculty, practitioners, and industry experts during the Youth Innovation and Sport Day. The collaboration builds on nearly a decade of programming delivered in partnership with CITC, using soccer, sport, and technology as tools for learning, leadership, and community impact.
“Partnering with City in the Community NY allows us to take education beyond the classroom. For example, over the past several years, we have collaborated on a podcasting course for high school students,” said Mary Killilea, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Innovation at NYU SPS. “Global events, like the World Cup, provide an extraordinary opportunity to make a lasting change in our cities. Our collaboration on the Summit, along with our industry-connected NYU SPS Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport faculty participating in the youth forum, will help turn passion for sport into real, measurable local action.”
The Youth Innovation & Sport Day reflects City in the Community NY and NYU SPS’s shared commitment to turning the energy of the FIFA World Cup into meaningful opportunity for young people. Through leadership development, community football training, workforce programming, and direct engagement with faculty, civic partners, and industry experts, the Day will help equip young leaders with the skills, connections, and experience to strengthen their communities long after the tournament.
“Sports play such an important role in shaping the way people live and work in communities around the world,” said Lee Igel, clinical professor at the NYU SPS Tisch Institute for Global Sport, who contributed to the development of the agenda for this Youth Innovation and Sport Day. “Participating in the Summit is an opportunity for young leaders to learn a playbook for advancing what they are already doing to build the future of the places they call home.”
ABOUT CITY IN THE COMMUNITY (CITC) NY
City in the Community (CITC) NY is the 501 (c)(3) charity foundation proudly supported by New York City FC. Since 2014, CITC NY has served over 50,000 New York youth, established free programming in 86% of communities across the five boroughs, created 60 free spaces to play and helped donate 250,000 meals to the South Bronx community through an ongoing partnership with New York Common Pantry. This work builds on City Football Group’s long-standing tradition of community initiatives in NYC. In 2010, Manchester City FC and the UAE Embassy built a rooftop soccer pitch at PS72 (East Harlem’s Lexington Academy), and in 2013, New York City FC was officially launched on that same pitch. CITC NY uses the power of soccer to promote health, education and leadership development and create safe community spaces, where programming is free of charge. Core programming includes New York City Soccer Initiative (NYCSI) – a first-of-its-kind $3 million public-private partnership to build and maintain 50 mini-pitches across the City over five years – Soccer Bloc, Saturday Night Lights, Youth Leadership, and Healthy Hat-Trick. The impact of this community work has received national recognition. New York City FC has been named a finalist for the ESPN Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year Award four times, won the MLS Community Team of the Year Award twice, had three Young Leaders named as honorees for the ESPN Billie Jean King Award and was selected as a winner of the NYC Mayoral Service Recognition Partnership Impact Award for Excellence for work during COVID-19.
