MENU Our Story HOME / OUR STORY LINKEDIN FACEBOOK TWITTER Established in May 2013, City Football Group is the owner of football-related businesses in major cities around the world, including football clubs, academies, technical support and marketing companies. It is our ambition to increase participation in football on and off the field, to find and develop the best footballing talent, and to deliver an exciting and forward playing game. By achieving these ambitions – playing attractive football, engaging our community of passionate fans and adopting a uniquely global yet local approach – we are growing a sustainable and socially responsible organisation, consistent with what ‘City’ football has meant to people for over a century. Timeline 02 SEP 2008 Manchester City agree a takeover deal with Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG). 23 SEP 2008 Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan pens letter to Manchester City supporters, which is posted on the official website, to confirm that the transfer of ownership has been completed. The Club breaks the British transfer record for the second time with the £32.5m signing of Robinho from Real Madrid. 14 MAY 2011 Manchester City’s 30 year wait for a trophy ends with a victory against Stoke in the FA Cup final. 08 JUL 2011 Manchester City signs ten-year sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways which sees the City of Manchester Stadium renamed as the Etihad Stadium. 13 MAY 2012 Manchester City Football Club beat QPR to become 2012 Premier League Champions, 44 years since their previous First Division title. 21 MAY 2013 Manchester City announce, in partnership with the New York Yankees, the acquisition of the Major League Soccer’s 20th expansion club, to be known as New York City Football Club. 22 JAN 2014 City Football Group announced acquisition of Melbourne Heart Football Club in partnership with owners of Melbourne Storm. 05 JUN 2014 Melbourne Heart Football Club becomes Melbourne City Football Club. 17 JUL 2014 Nissan and City Football Group unveil City Football Group’s first global partnership which saw the Japanese car manufacturer become the Group’s Official Automotive Sponsor 21 JUL 2014 CFG’s global membership scheme, Cityzens, is launched in Manchester, offering members unique opportunities to engage with the three CFG clubs. 11 OCT 2014 Melbourne City play their first game with their new name and draw 1-1 with Sydney FC. David Villa scores on his debut for the A-League side. 16 OCT 2014 Manchester City Women lift the Continental Cup in their first season, defeating Arsenal Ladies 1-0 in the final at Wycombe’s Adams Park. 20 NOV 2014 Cityzens Giving is launched, giving Cityzens members the opportunity to choose how charity projects around the world are funded. 08 DEC 2014 City Football Academy, Manchester, is officially opened. The 80-acre world-leading youth development and first team facility is now home to Manchester City men’s, women’s and youth teams, and is the HQ of City Football Group. 27 FEB 2015 City Football Academy, Melbourne, is officially opened. The new facility is the training and administrative hub for Melbourne City FC, and the Asia-Pacific base for City Football Group. 13 MAR 2015 New York City Football Club play their inaugural home game against New England Revolution at Yankee Stadium, defeating the visitors 2-0. 07 JUL 2015 SAP and CFG announce a global marketing and technology partnership, which saw SAP become 'Cloud Software Provider' and trusted technology advisor of the Group. 16 AUG 2015 An expanded Etihad Stadium was revealed at the first home game of the 2015/16 season against Chelsea, with an additional 6,000 seats in the south stand and three new pitchside rows taking the capacity to 55,000. 01 DEC 2015 City Football Group is valued at $3bn as China Media Capital (CMC) Consortium acquire 13% stake for $485m. 31 JAN 2016 Melbourne City Women win the 2016 Grand Final after an unbeaten inaugural season. 01 FEB 2016 Manchester City announce Pep Guardiola as first team manager. 25 SEP 2016 Manchester City Women beat Chelsea 2-0 to win the WSL title for the first time, following an unbeaten season. 05 OCT 2016 New York City FC announce a permanent training facility in Orangeburg, City Football Academy, New York. 06 OCT 2016 Manchester City Women play their first game in the UEFA Champions League against WFC Zvezda. 24 NOV 2016 Melbourne City FC open the W-League wing of the City Football Academy, Melbourne. 13 MAY 2017 Manchester City Women lift the FA Cup at Wembley, beating Birmingham City Ladies 1-4. 30 NOV 2016 Melbourne City win the FFA Cup final against Sydney FC. 05 APR 2017 City Football Group announce the acquisition of Club Atletico Torque, a club based in Montevideo, Uruguay 23 AUG 2017 City Football Group acquire 44.3% of Girona FC, who had just won promotion to La Liga. 09 NOV 2017 Manchester City announce that Amazon will be filming a season-long, access all areas documentary titled All or Nothing: Manchester City. 18 NOV 2017 Club Atletico Torque win promotion to the First Division, becoming the youngest team in the history of the Uruguayan Federation to achieve this feat. 25 FEB 2018 Manchester City win the Carabao Cup at Wembley after a 3-0 win against Arsenal. 24 APR 2018 New York City FC unveil their brand new City Football Academy training facility. 06 MAY 2018 Manchester City lift the Premier League trophy, breaking a host of records and reaching 100 points in a single campaign. Today, the Group has majority owned and operated clubs on three continents – Manchester City FC in the Premier League, New York City Football Club in the MLS and Melbourne City FC of the A-League. All of these clubs' men’s, women’s and youth teams train at City Football Academies, each facility designed upon the same principles and philosophy as the Group HQ in Manchester. This was the first City Football Academy, a world-leading youth development and first team training facility, designed as a physical manifestation of the Group’s commitment to sustainability, embedded within its local community. Each Club’s vision to use football for social good is delivered in part through City in the Community, Manchester City’s 30-year-old charity, which has since been replicated in New York and Melbourne. The Group also has investments in the J-League’s Yokohama F. Marinos, Club Athletico Torque in Uruguay and Girona FC in La Liga. CFG is owned by Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) (87%) and the China Media Capital (CMC) Consortium (13%). Until December 2015, City Football Group was wholly owned by ADUG, a private investment and development company belonging to His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. OUR BUSINESS Read about our Ownership OUR TEAMS Read about Our Teams Our Partners © 2018 City Football Group. Contact Careers Disclaimer Sitemap Cookie Policy Copyright