SPORT Man City: New £200m academy


Manchester City Football Club this month opened the doors to its brand new City Football Academy (CFA) – reported to have cost £200m – aſter a four-year project. Te new facility situated in


east Manchester – a stone’s throw from the club’s Etihad Stadium – forms a key part of plans to regenerate the former industrial wasteland which surrounds it. Te two- year building phase was led by BAM Construction, which was working to designs by Rafael Vinoly Architects. Te English Premier League champions


Man United groundsteam among IOG award winners


Manchester United Football Club’s (MUFC) groundskeeping team has been named among the winners of the annual Institute of Groundsmanship’s (IOG) annual awards. The awards ceremony, held at


stadiumMK in Milton Keynes earlier this month (4 December), recognised winners in 19 different categories, with the MUFC team receiving the professional football grounds team of the year award. It was a double sweep for MUFC on the


Te site boasts a 7,000 capacity stadium for the women’s and youth teams Manchester City star Pablo Zabaleta believes


will use the facility to train its current stars – as well as future prospects in the club’s youth teams – and has also worked to ensure parts of the facility will be available for use by the local community, particularly schoolchildren. In addition to 17 pitches and three gyms, the


site boasts a 7,000-capacity stadium for Elite Development squad teams, Manchester City Women’s FC and community use.


the investment will help the club produce a steady stream of talent from its youth ranks and also help to lure established stars. “For City to become a top club not just


in England but also in the world, you need this – a good training ground,” he told reporters ahead of the CFA launch. “Top players always want to train at good facilities.” Details: http://lei.sr?a=k4d3h


Glasgow 2014 running track repurposed


Te running track that was built on a system of stilts at Hampden Park stadium in Glasgow for the 2014 Commonwealth Games has been relaid and opened for community use at the Grangemouth Stadium in the East End of Glasgow. Grangemouth’s bid for


the track at Hampden Park – and the auxiliary track at Lesser Hampden Park – was supported by Falkirk Council, which provided more than £500,000 for the project. As part of the over- all bid, Grangemouth also managed to secure £50,000 worth of weights equipment and a further £90,000 worth of athletics equipment. Jamie Hepburn, minister designate for sport


and health improvement, said: “Te opening of this fantastic track is a demonstration of the continuing legacy of the Commonwealth Games that will help build a more active and healthier Scotland. It’s great that young peo- ple can now train and compete on the very same track where Eilidh Child, Usain Bolt and many others won medals.” Reusing the track is part of the Glasgow 2014 legacy plan, which


© CYBERTREK 2014 Te track was used during the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games


looks to distribute sports equipment and infra- structure used at the Games to clubs and local authorities across the country. So far, sportscotland has invested £600,000


to ensure all 32 local authorities in Scotland and sports clubs benefit from Games equip- ment. Scottish sport governing bodies will receive more than £200,000 of equip- ment, with another £200,000 going to the clubs and facilities. Separately, £200,000 of weightlifting and powerlifting equip- ment will go to the sportscotland Institute of Sport to upgrade and replace existing items. Details: http://lei.sr?a=R7A7R


Twitter: @leisureopps John Steele will take up his new role in January


Steele joins Loughborough Uni as executive director


John Steele will leave his role as CEO of Youth Sport Trust (YST) to become executive director of sport at Loughborough University at the end of the year. Speaking of his appointment, Steele – who


has been at YST since February 2012 – said: “It’s a great privilege to take on the role at Loughborough, at a time when the uni- versity has some unprecedented ambition around student and high performance sport. “It’s been an absolute honour to have led


YST and to have been part of an organisa- tion that is positively impacting on the lives of millions of young people.” Baroness Sue Campbell, chair of YST,


added: “Tis is a tremendous opportunity for John and will place him at the heart of new and exciting developments in student and high performance sport at the univer- sity. Tis is also good news for the YST, which is developing a long term partner- ship with Loughborough University.” The move comes a year after Steele


took over from Steve Cram as chair of the English Institute of Sport (in October 2013). Details: http://lei.sr?a=q2C8y


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital 3


night, as the club’s grounds manager, Tony Sinclair, was also given the groundsman of the year award. For the full list of win- ners, follow the link below to our website. Details: http://lei.sr?a=q3z4q


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