Man City submits £10m development plans for women’s team training facility
Premier League champions, Manchester City, has submitted plans to the city council for a new £10m training facility for its women’s team.
The scheme, at the club’s City Football Academy training centre, aims to create a stand-alone facility to house the women’s first team, and marks the latest chapter in the club’s continued investment into best-in-class facilities for the team, it said.
Should the facility’s application be approved, it will open in 2025 and feature a hydrotherapy area, a high-performance gym and an analytics space all designed to enhance player development by mirroring the high-performance environment of the men’s first team.
During the planning stages, the club worked closely with first team multi-disciplinary experts to ensure the facility best meets the specific needs of the players, and the 17,000 sq ft building has also been designed so it can be expanded over time as the team continues to grow.
As well as benefiting from a private facility, the team will continue to be a central part of the eco-system at the £200m City Football Academy meaning they can take advantage of the resources and know-how across the organisation’s wider operations and facilities.
Just a few hundred metres away from the proposed training facility is Manchester City Women’s 7-000-seater Joie Stadium – the first and biggest purpose-built stadium in the Barclays Women’s Super League – connected to the wider site that also features the men’s first team and Academy training facilities.
Proposed centre CGI, courtesy Man City
Charlotte O’Neill, managing director – Manchester City Women, said: “Over the past decade, our shared space at City Football Academy has been a huge asset to the team, providing unrivalled access to world-leading facilities and industry experts that have helped the team to adopt the club’s philosophies on and off the pitch and establish itself as a pioneer in the development of women’s football in this country.
“However, as the team evolves, so do their needs and that’s why we continue to invest in the right facilities at the right stage in the team’s journey.
“By building in a new, state-of-the-art facility, we will provide our players with a bespoke industry-leading environment for them to train and recover together, and we believe this will further improve player welfare, and help attract even more talent to Manchester City and the next generation of aspiring women footballers.”
Manchester City captain, Steph Houghton, who has been with the club since its professional re-launch in 2014, said: “I’ve been incredibly proud to call the City Football Academy home for the past 10 years and have seen first-hand how the integrated facilities we are a part of have contributed to the development of the women’s team.
“My team mates and I have benefited massively from working with the coaches, researchers, nutritionists and everyone else on site who have helped us to develop as professional footballers and compete at the highest level.
“As we look to take the next step in our journey of developing the women’s game, it’s right that we now develop our own purpose-built home, at the heart of City Football Academy, and I’m thrilled the club has the ambition and commitment to keep investing in our future.”
