Saturday evening, east Manchester.
As the icy rain arrives almost horizontally amid a series of storms battering the United Kingdom, more than 50,000 fans head to the Etihad Stadium for the crucial Premier League match between Manchester City and Tottenham.
Among them is teenager Leila – a City supporter since before she can remember – and she is anticipating a difficult game.
More than 5,000 miles to the west, a warm sun rises over California as fellow City fan Laura picks up her sister’s dog, which she is looking after for the day, before getting ready to watch the big match on TV.
Meanwhile, it’s late night 5,000 miles to the south east of Manchester, as Venkatesh sits down to watch the game with friends in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru.
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City may be clear at the top of the table, but Liverpool are keeping up the pressure, beating Norwich just before kick-off to cut their advantage to six points.
The tension is discernible in Manchester, Los Angeles and India – and not helped when Dejan Kuluvesevski gives Spurs a shock lead inside five minutes.
For these three fans, and hundreds of others around the world, there is a special connection with City.
As well as wanting Pep Guardiola’s side to be successful, they are united by their work for the club’s global initiative Cityzens Giving, which uses football to have a positive impact on people’s lives.
City are now a sporting giant, with supporters spread across the world. With that size comes influence, and that can be used to deliver important messages, particularly to young people.
Take Los Angeles, where 30 per cent of children are overweight and are more likely to develop non-communicable diseases like diabetes at a younger age.
The East LA district has a large Hispanic demographic, among whom soccer is hugely popular, and the LA Rising project, supported by City, attracts around 250 kids for regular activities.
“We not only focus on healthy eating and nutrition, but also mental health and what it entails to be healthy to help us be able to play well both on and off the field,” Laura tells GOAL.
“Every day I’ll ask them about their highs and lows of the week and that’s where we can use soccer as a really big tool to navigate those types of conversations because we say if we’re not in the best mental state, how are we going to be able to focus on the field and score that goal?"
The primary focus is on the soccer programme for both girls and boys, but it also provides mentorship, whether it’s something as simple as providing support with their homework or building up their confidence.
Being part of a team can help make friendships and sport can provide an environment where self-belief can grow.
Laura is emotional when she recalls the story of one young boy who arrived at the club quiet and subdued but has since seen his life transformed.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit some communities hard and, with schools shut down, some youngsters were unable to meet up.
That teenager having a tough time turned up at the club, found a welcoming environment, and was able to talk about his problems.
“A super-shy kid, he wouldn’t open up about anything, but he had a ball in his back-pack so the second we started talking about soccer, we started passing it around, doing juggling and being silly,” Laura says.
“While we were doing that, I asked him what else he liked to do and he told me about his raps and he opened up about that. I could see he was talking about his depression.
“It can be difficult in Latino families – young boys often have to be tough and to put away their feelings – so it was incredible to see him being comfortable and using soccer to do that.
“That’s why the kids come to our programme because it’s a place to open up, be a kid and we’re here to help them.
"Soccer makes a difference, it helps them to connect with other people, even if just yelling on the field and using their voice.
“His story was just one of those where I realised this is helping, this is working and using the tools to get those conversations out.”
The smiles on the faces of those LA kids were huge when members of the first-team squad visited the club as part of their US pre-season tour four years ago.
Today, many are watching on TV and the cheers go up when Ilkay Gundogan slams in an equaliser just before half-time in the game against Spurs.
At the Etihad, Leila is watching on nervously, with Harry Kane giving the City defence all sorts of problems. Like Laura, she’s a Young Leader, and has been delivering football coaching for youngsters in the city.
In Manchester, the club’s City in the Community programme engages with around 20,000 local people from anywhere between the age of two and 90, with a focus on health, education and inclusion.
Leila volunteered to train youngsters after getting involved with summer camps three years ago and is now starting on her coaching badges and has been encouraged to see so many girls getting involved in the game she loves.
“It’s fantastic when you can see progress in them,” she tells GOAL. “You can see they’re much more comfortable in socialising. It’s not just their football techniques, it’s an outlet for them and it’s about community.
“Obviously, a lot of them are there because they want to be footballers but, for others, it’s a way to communicate outside of school, which is great for them.
“I’ve seen the differences in children when they’re seven, eight or nine and I just think 'Where can that lead to in the future? '
“The idea behind all of this is encouraging young people and young girls. Making football more accessible for young girls is really important.”
Projects are not only beneficial to the youngsters, they also help the young leaders develop skills that they can take into their everyday lives.
Turning 17 at the end of February, Leila has already helped organise a girls’ football festival and hosted a Q&A panel for young fans to put their questions to players from the women’s first team.
She’s a singer away from football, putting together her first band, and her experience within the game has given her more confidence to perform in front of crowds.
“They provide so many opportunities,” she says. “It doesn’t matter about your experience; if they think you can do the job, they will put you forward. There’s no doubting anyone.
“It’s so inclusive. There’s nothing that separates people. They are focusing on getting females equal and that’s great. With my involvement, they throw lots of opportunities my way. Everything is opening doors for my future.
"Things come from it that you don’t think about – communication skills, socialising, leadership.
"When I think about being on a stage, it’s the same as engaging lots of kids and explaining a session I’m going to do. It’s all got similar skills behind it that are all very important."
It’s easy to be cynical about football's priorities – given it's a multi-billion pound industry full of glitz and glamour.
City, of course, are among one of the wealthiest clubs in the world but they are also changing people’s lives around the world.
The Cityzens Giving programme runs youth-led community football projects in 25 cities across the globe, such as the Magic Bus Foundation in Bengaluru – one of the fastest growing cities on the planet where many of its 12 million residents do not have access to clean drinking water.
Children are at risk of contracting water-borne diseases, keeping them out of school and affecting their education.
Water filtration towers have been installed at four schools and 200 trained Young Leaders have been able to teach more than 10,000 children about the importance of clean water and sanitation – particularly important during the height of the pandemic when hand-washing was so important.
The power of football can be crucial at getting the message across and, as the sport continues to grow in India, the project has become vital for local communities.
"Football is becoming very popular, most of the children play and our role is to inspire," Venkatesh, 25, tells GOAL.
"We play matches and train but it's not just football, we also talk about problems they are facing in the community like hygiene or motivating them to go to school.
"There are problems with drugs, garbage, child labour and violence in the community, so we talk to the children that come and play with us and parents about the importance of hygiene and education.
"If it wasn't through football, children wouldn't listen. We use it to entertain and to educate – they enjoy it and learn."
Like all the projects, it is youth-led with support provided, and that helps create an environment where young people can be and feel safe.
The impact can be huge on youngsters who suddenly have a safe space to be children and enjoy themselves like Sahanah, who was the first girl to join the club.
"She lost her father and was very alone and wouldn't do anything," Venkatesh adds. "When we started playing football, we used to watch and when we convinced her to join in, we saw a change in her – she became more interactive.
"She's also joined teams and represented the schools and is now thinking about becoming a professional footballer.
"It gives me so much encouragement to keep working with the children, I want to see more of these kinds of stories."
The power football has to change lives is extraordinary just as its capacity to affect emotions.
On this particular day, there is disappointment for the City fans from all across the globe. The brief joy of a late equaliser from Riyad Mahrez's penalty is wiped out by Kane's injury-time winner at the Etihad.
In California, Laura collapses onto the sofa, while in India, Venkatesh is teased by his friends who support City's rivals.
Back in Manchester, Leila heads for the tram stop feeling bitterly frustrated.
However, while City may have suffered a setback in the title race, the difference these three people, and so many like them around the world, are making is far more significant than any defeat on a football field.
