By Mark Baber
December 9 – Manchester City’s new £200 million youth development and first team training centre – the City Football Academy (CFA) – was on officially opened Monday by former manager and captain, Tony Book, with club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in attendance.
The official opening marks a major milestone in the club’s plan for development of the area around the Etihad stadium and its plan to educate talented young footballers on and off the pitch in a facility supported by the best coaches and coaching programmes.
The development of what was until recently a derelict, contaminated site has been transformed by the partnership between the club, Manchester City Council and Etihad airlines whose coimmitment to the Manchester area extends from the stadium to the training facility to building a new airline hub.
According to the Leader of Manchester City Council, Sir Richard Leese; “Manchester City Football Club is a valued long term partner and has demonstrated time and time again that it is rooted within this community. The investment into the stadium and surroundings, now known as the Etihad Campus has been unprecedented under the ownership of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed.
“Now, we are able to celebrate another milestone of this investment – the City Football Academy. It is a project that has turned a derelict 80-acre site into a valuable community asset. I know the journey of transformation for East Manchester will continue with partners like Manchester City and that the community will be healthier and wealthier for it.”
The CFA, the plans for which are largely based on the AC Milan training ground, contains 16.5 pitches, two thirds of which are dedicated to youth training.
The facility houses coaching and education facilities, medical and sports science services, sleeping accommodation and parents’ facilities. It will also serve as the administrative base for Manchester City club staff and global headquarters for sister clubs New York City FC, Melbourne City FC and Yokohama Marinos.
The project has been a triumph of local development and employment and the details are impressive.
– 25% of the 70% local workforce was drawn from the East Manchester area with 10% of people on site previously unemployed. A further 95 trainees and apprentices were employed and are working towards professional qualifications.
– 80% of the project budget was spent in the North West with 883 contracts awarded to local companies.
– As part of the environmental improvements on the site, which used to be the Clayton Aniline dye works, 2,000 trees have been planted.
– The Academy Stadium for Elite Development squad teams, Manchester City Women’s FC and community use has a capacity of 7,000.
– Altogether over 450 players of all age levels will be training every week in the academy, 75% of them from the Greater Manchester area.
– A 190m bridge, which has been designated a public right of way, links the facility to the Etihad Stadium.
– Highlights of the development include 3 separate gyms, 6 “pieces of water” including a plunge pool maintained at 4 degrees and a hot pool at 36 degrees, 56-seat TV auditorium for players to review video clips, four star accommodation with bedrooms designed by sleep consultants and customisable pitches to allow the team to prepare on training pitches the same size as their next away fixture.
Over 7,000 responses from local residents were made to the plans for the new facility when they were released in September 2011 – with an astonishing 97% approval rating. The plans were then backed by the City council in December 2011 and the government in August 2012.
Patrick Vieira who is now in charge of the elite development squad at City compared the academy to similar facilities at other clubs seeking to attract the world’s best youngsters, saying “Arsenal was really good, Inter was really good, but I think this training facility takes it to a different level.”
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