English Premier League club Crystal Palace have entered a new step in their history - former Palace graduate and current England manager, Gareth Southgate, opened the club's brand-new 20 million pound academy.
Gareth Southgate Opens Crystal Palace's New 20 Million GBP Academy
The new Crystal Palace academy is located in Beckenham, south east London, 4 miles away from their home ground.
The Crystal Palace Academy boasts state-of-the-art facilities that will become an important resource for the development of young talent as well as community programmes.
The club now have a full-size covered indoor training pitch
The £20m Academy redevelopment saw the creation of five grass training pitches, a full-size outdoor 3G pitch with floodlighting, a show pitch, a full-size covered indoor training pitch and gymnasium, as well as a complex of offices, analysis rooms, a lecture room, meeting rooms, classrooms, restaurant and kitchen.
Chairman Steve Parish said: “The new Academy will have a transformative effect on the future of the football club and the local community, not only enabling us to attract and retain the best players in one of England’s richest footballing areas but also to help scores of young people and local schools enjoy the facilities.
“We will also be able to offer a comprehensive educational and player care programme ensuring that even those players that don’t make it have an improved set of life choices.
“Gareth was a pivotal part of creating the current academy system and his success is testament to the type of person and player this club strives to produce. He is an immensely proud part of our history and we also hope we can produce some home grown talent to help England win a major tournament. It is fitting that he should open our new facilities to mark this monumental step forward for our football club.”
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