Manchester City Academy Trailblazer Spotlight
The Man City Academy team developed their Trailblazers programme alongside their Black History Month focus in October.
They decided to look at every player of Black heritage who has ever played for the Club, from when it was founded in 1864 up until present day starting with the Club’s first Black Trailblazer, Stan Horne.
The Man City Academy team developed their Trailblazers programme alongside their Black History Month focus in October.
They decided to look at every player of Black heritage who has ever played for the Club, from when it was founded in 1864 up until present day starting with the Club’s first Black Trailblazer, Stan Horne.
Each of the Academy players took an individual to research. The player profiles were presented back as ‘Panini’ style cards which capture their achievements for example how many appearances they made and how many trophies they Club won while they were in the team.
The aim is to reflect back all their work as an education resource for the Academy. The Man City archivist supported Academy players to dig deeper and some of the boys have presented their Trailblazers in school assemblies while others have spoken on a Man City Podcast.
“One of the highlights has been Alex Williams’ involvement.” says Mark Adams. “He’s always available to come and support and inspire our group. As the first Black goal keeper at Man City he is a fantastic example of a Trailblazer himself.”
Trailblazers has started new conversations within the Academy community and has attracted support from Man City first team too. It’s an exciting start to the project. Looking ahead, Man City Academy are considering naming one of their new classrooms after Stan Horne and to decorate their facilities with the Club Trailblazer timeline as a permanent reminder of the importance of Black players to the Club.