John Stones makes undercover visit to City in the Community session

John Stones makes undercover visit to City in the Community session

Manchester City’s John Stones went uncover at a secondary school to surprise one unsuspecting City in the Community (CITC) participant.

The City Star attended a City Inspires session, at Oasis Academy Leesbrook, where a group of participants thought they were taking place in a trial session for new coach, ‘Noah-Jim’.

The disguised John Stones then took part in a lesson, before his real identity was revealed.

Stones made the visit especially to surprise, and learn more about, Issa, a participant on the programme.

Issa has been on part of the City Inspires programme since September 2025, due to issues with behaviour in school. However, with the help of CITC, Issa was able to turn things around, becoming more engaged in lessons and making great progress in school.

Speaking about the challenges he faced before the CITC sessions, Issa said: “I used to get into fights and skip lessons, I was hanging around bad influences which kept getting me into trouble.

“After I started the sessions, I started thinking about consequences and how it impacts my future.

“I worked on controlling my anger and making better choices and I began attending lessons more and staying away from negative situations.”

Issa also went on to explain how the CITC coaches inspired him to improve his behaviour in school, adding: “Watching the CITC coaches showed me that discipline and teamwork matters.

“We learn about players who stay focused even under pressure instead of reacting badly, and it made me want to act calmer and think about my actions first.”

Reflecting on his visit to the City Inspires session, John said: “It was great to come down and see what they are doing here on Inspires.

“They obviously have a lot of time and respect for the coaches, and vice versa, and it’s nice to see what’s going on in the Community.

“I came here today to see Issa because this has helped him turn his life around.