Plans revealed for City Football Academy in Spain with land purchased | OneFootball

A brand new City Football Academy could be coming to Spain in the not too distant future, acting as the new permanent training base for City Football Group’s Girona.

La Liga club Girona – based in northern Catalonia – have been part of the City Football Group since August 2017, when they were acquired by Girona Football Group and the CFG in an equal partnership deal split 44.3% for each party.

In the months that followed the City Football Group acquisition, Girona achieved one of the best periods in the club’s history, securing a 10th place finish in Spain’s top-flight of football, with Manchester City’s owners’ view for the Club being made clear from the very start.

While fans of the Catalonia-based club thought they may have experienced some of their most exciting times already, the best is clearly still yet to come following an announcement made by Girona on Friday.

In a statement released by Girona, the Club have announced that they have completed the purchase of a significant area of land that will enable them to begin the process of constructing what is being named, ‘City Football Academy Girona’ – with the process set to begin the second-half of 2023.

Located by the village of Vilablareix – situated within the province of Girona – the City Football Academy Girona will be home to a total of seven football pitches, accommodating all first-team activity of the La Liga side and their training processes.

The training complex will also include a 16th century farmhouse known as ‘La Massana’, which will become the Club’s new ‘institutional headquarters’.

As per the information of journalist Nil Solá, 70% of the funding for the CFA Girona project will come from CVC Capital Partners, with the official club statement revealing that €25 million will “cover a large part of the funds intended for infrastructures”.

It is also reported that upon completion, CFA Girona will become the second-largest football centre to be built within the City Football Group – second only to Manchester City’s training base adjacent to the Etihad Stadium.

The City Football Academy in Manchester was opened in 2014, and immediately became the new home for Manchester City’s clubs across both genders and all age groups, also featuring a new state-of-the-art 7,000 capacity arena.

The CFA also accommodates Manchester-based staff working for both Manchester City and the wider City Football Group organisation, while also acting as the global headquarters for the CFG operation.