March 12 – Manchester City has officially broken ground on a new £10 million training facility for its Women’s First Team at the City Football Academy, marking a significant step in the club’s ongoing commitment to the women’s game.
The facility, designed to mirror the high-performance environment of the Men’s First Team, will provide the women’s squad with state-of-the-art amenities to enhance their development and performance.
Set to open next season, the 17,000-square-foot facility will feature a hydrotherapy area, a high-performance gym, and a circular dressing room.
While the new training ground demonstrates Manchester City’s continued investment in their women’s team, the facility is part of a broader trend of increased financial and infrastructural support for women’s football, particularly among elite clubs. The expectation is that this dedicated space will foster further growth and development, whilst also acting as an incentive to attract top-level talent in the near future.
This facility is one element of Manchester City’s broader investment in infrastructure, which also includes the club’s landmark achievement in 2023—becoming the first WSL team to sell stadium naming rights for the newly-named Joie Stadium in Manchester.
The club’s £10 million plan for the new training facilities also includes room for further expansion.
With the club’s noisy neighbours, Manchester United, unveiling their own £2 billion, 100,000-seater stadium development plans just yesterday, the city of Manchester is set to become a football building site in the coming years.
Commenting on the facility and the start of construction, Charlotte O’Neill, Managing Director – Manchester City Women, said: “After years of planning, consulting and designing, it is hugely exciting to be here today to start construction on our purpose-built training facility at the City Football Academy.
“Over the past decade, the team has benefited from being a part of the high-performance environment here, working with some of the very best coaches, practitioners and support staff, as well as accessing some of the best facilities. But the time feels right for the team to move into our own purpose-built home, and we think we’ve designed something really special that will help us in our efforts to consistently challenge for major titles”.
Club captain Alex Greenwood added: “We’ve obviously gone from an amazing facility which has gotten us to this point, but it’s time for us to move on from that now and expand as a team by giving us our own space to work from.”
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1741804552labto1741804552ofdlr1741804552owedi1741804552sni@g1741804552niwe.1741804552yrrah1741804552