City Football Academy (Melbourne)

Last updated

The Etihad City Football Academy, Melbourne, named after the Etihad airline and located in Melbourne, Australia, is the training and administrative headquarters of professional football club Melbourne City FC. The club has been based at two of these facilities, originally at in the northern Melbourne suburb of Bundoora, and later at the Casey Fields sports precinct in Cranbourne East.

Contents

Bundoora site

City Football Academy, Melbourne [1]
Location La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria
Owner Melbourne City FC
(City Football Group)
Construction
Built2014
Opened2015
Construction cost$15 million AU
Tenants
Melbourne City Football Club (Training and administration)

City Football Group announced the construction of the facility in mid-2014, shortly after acquiring Melbourne Heart and renaming the club as Melbourne City. The site was situated within the La Trobe University precinct. [1] Constructed in late 2014 for approximately $15 million Australian dollars, the City Football Academy has served as the Asia-Pacific base for the City Football Group company and since its opening in February 2015 has provided tenant club Melbourne City with some of the best facilities of any A-League club. [2]

Among the facilities features are a world-class physiotherapy, sports rehabilitation and administrative building as well as a $2 million DESSO pitch, which is hybrid grass system where natural grassroots intertwine with artificial turf fibres and is able to withstand three times the wear of a normal pitch. [2]

The facility was also the administrative and training hub of Melbourne City's youth team and its women's team. [3] In December 2016, the club unveiled the Elite Women's Facility, an extension of the complex providing dedicated warm-up, training, locker and lecture rooms for the women's team. [4] [5]

The Bundoora facility was demolished after Melbourne City moved out.

Etihad City Football Academy, Casey Fields

In December 2020, Melbourne City officials announced the club would move its training and administration facilities to Casey Fields in Melbourne's South-East. In 2019 the football facilities at Casey Fields included four floodlit pitches and a one-story administration building. The club announced that, in conjunction with the City of Casey, it would add an elite training tablet pitch, expand the size of the administration building to two storeys and leave space for potential future construction of a 4,000 capacity boutique stadium. The club's youth and women's teams began moving into the facility in early 2021, and the senior men's team commenced pre-season training later that year. Construction of the additional facilities commenced in July 2021 and will conclude in mid-2022. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Trobe University</span> Public university in Melbourne, Australia

La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria and the twelfth university in Australia. La Trobe is one of the Australian verdant universities and also part of the Innovative Research Universities group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Manchester Stadium</span> Football stadium in Manchester, England

The City of Manchester Stadium is the home of Premier League club Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest football stadium in England and ninth-largest in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bundoora</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Bundoora is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 15 km (9.3 mi) north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Banyule, Darebin and Whittlesea local government areas. Bundoora recorded a population of 28,068 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blacktown International Sportspark</span>

Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP) (formally known as Blacktown Olympic Park) is a multi-sports venue located in Rooty Hill, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The venue includes two cricket grounds, which have also been used for Australian rules football, an athletics track and field, three baseball diamonds, two soccer fields, four softball diamonds, administration centers and park land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lennoxtown training centre</span>

Lennoxtown Training Centre is Celtic F.C.'s training centre, located at Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire in Scotland. The complex houses the club's training and educational facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casey Fields</span> Multi-sports complex

Casey Fields is a $30 million, 70 hectare multi-sports complex in the City of Casey at Cranbourne East a southeastern suburb of Melbourne. The complex is home to Australian rules football, cricket, netball, soccer, tennis, cycling, golf, and rugby football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Football Group</span> British-based holding company

City Football Group Limited (CFG) is a holding company that administers association football clubs. The group is owned by three organisations, of which 81% is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi United Group, 18% by the American firm Silver Lake, and 1% by Chinese firms China Media Capital and CITIC Capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etihad Campus</span> Area of Sportcity, Manchester

Etihad Campus is an area of Sportcity, Manchester which is mostly owned and operated by Manchester City Football Club. The campus includes the Etihad Stadium, the City Football Academy (CFA) training facility and club world headquarters, and undeveloped land adjacent to both of these facilities. These two main portions of the campus site are linked by a 60-metre landmark pedestrian walkway/footbridge that spans the junction of Alan Turing Way and Ashton New Road. The term Etihad Campus embraces both the stadium – which already existed when the name was coined in 2010 – as well as much of the surrounding undeveloped land that existed at that time, although the term is also frequently used as a direct synonym for just the CFA portion.

UCFB is a higher education institution offering undergraduate and postgraduate university degrees and executive education in the football and wider sports industries. UCFB is a college of the University of East London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Academy Stadium</span> Football stadium in Manchester, UK

The Academy Stadium is a football stadium in Manchester, England, forming part of the Etihad Campus. In September 2023, the ground was renamed Joie Stadium for sponsorship reasons. Announced on 19 September 2011 as part of an 80-acre training facility to cater for around 400 youth players at a time, the campus was opened on 8 December 2014. The stadium, known simply as Academy Stadium, was inaugurated by students of the Manchester Metropolitan University, who played the first official games on the pitch on 14 December 2014. Academy Stadium is home to the men's Elite Development Squad and other senior academy teams, as well as to Manchester City Women, who also play select matches at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Melbourne City Women's Football Club, also known as the Melbourne City Women or simply as City, represents Melbourne City in the A-League Women, the top division soccer league in Australia. Founded in 2015, the club has its training and administration based at the City Football Academy in Melbourne and plays matches at Casey Fields in Casey and at AAMI Park in Melbourne. The current manager of the team is Dario Vidošić.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne City FC</span> Association football club in Victoria, Australia

Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East but playing matches in Melbourne CBD, that competes in A-League, the highest division of soccer in Australia, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL).

City Football Academy may refer to:

Oriam is Scotland's national performance centre for sport, based at Heriot-Watt University's Riccarton campus in Edinburgh. The Scottish Rugby Union and the Scottish Football Association use it as a training facility, Heart of Midlothian F.C. rent the centre for first-team training and to run their academy. It is also used by other sports teams, students and members of the public.

The City Football Academy, New York, currently known as the Etihad City Football Academy for sponsorship reasons, is the training ground of professional football club New York City FC, located in Orangeburg on the outskirts of New York City. It is the third 'City Football Academy' to be built by City Football Group, the others being located in Manchester and Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western United FC</span> Football club

Western United Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club. The club is based in the western Melbourne suburb of Tarneit, the club aims to represent western Victoria, incorporating the western suburbs of Melbourne; the regional cities of Ballarat, Bendigo, and Geelong; and regional and country towns in western Victoria.

City Football Academy, Montevideo, is the training and administrative headquarters of professional football club Montevideo City Torque. Announced in January 2020, it became the fourth City Football Academy complex constructed by City Football Group, owner of Montevideo City Torque, after the facilities constructed in Manchester, Melbourne and New York City, and closely follows the design of its three predecessors.

Wyndham City Stadium is a proposed soccer stadium in Tarneit, Victoria, Australia. It is scheduled to open in 2026 as the home ground of Western United FC.

The Sydney FC Centre Of Excellence colloquially known as Sky Park is the training and administrative headquarters of professional Australian soccer club Sydney FC, located in the sporting precinct of Macquarie University in North Ryde, New South Wales. The club has based its training and academy facilities at Macquarie University since 2007.

The Home of the Matildas is a soccer stadium in Melbourne, Australia. It is the home base of the Australia women's national soccer team, and the home of Melbourne Victory in the A-League Women in Bundoora, Melbourne, Australia. It has an 800 capacity grandstand, and a total venue capacity of 3,000.

References

  1. 1 2 "City Football Academy unveiled". La Trobe University. 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  2. 1 2 David Davutovic (27 February 2015). "Melbourne City unveil new $15m training facility as City Football Group show A-League commitment". Herald Sun.
  3. ↑ "Melbourne City joins W-League". ABC News. 13 May 2015. Archived from the original on 19 August 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  4. ↑ "W-League: Melbourne City women get a place to call home". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 December 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  5. ↑ "Elite Women's Facility Launched: City Football Academy". Melbourne City FC. YouTube. 1 December 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  6. ↑ "Melbourne City FC to create new Etihad City Football Academy Australia in South East Melbourne". Melbourne City FC. 14 December 2020. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "Shock move: Melbourne City to relocate in bid for more fans". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 December 2020. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  8. ↑ "Melbourne City to build new home 'Etihad City Football Academy' at Casey Fields". ESPN Australia/New Zealand. 14 December 2020. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  9. ↑ "Construction begins on Melbourne City Football Club academy at Casey Fields". miragenews.com. 1 July 2021. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  10. ↑ "Construction starts on Melbourne City FC new academy and home base at Casey Fields". Australasian Leisure Management. 2 July 2021. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.