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HOME AND AWAY
NATIONAL
FOOTBALL CENTRE BY PETER BARNES
ARTIST’S IMPRESSION NATIONAL FOOTBALL CENTRE NEWPORT. ARGRAFF ARLUNYDD O’R GANOLFAN BÊL-DROED GENEDLAETHOL.
On 12th March 2012 the first turf was cut on the new National Football Centre at the Newport International Sports Village.
coaches.” Osian went on to say that “it is important for us, when talking about elite coaches and players, to have an elite facility.”
The National Football Centre, a £4.1 million venture funded jointly by the FAW, UEFA, FIFA, Sports Wales and Newport City Council, will provide Wales with a state of the art, purposebuilt facility offering first class training, playing, sports science and education facilities as well as a headquarters for the Welsh Football Trust and thus a home for the development of the beautiful game in Wales.
Wales manager Chris Coleman agrees, confirming that that he himself, as a player coming up through the ranks, would have benefited from such a facility. “The National Football Centre in Newport is a huge boost in developing the Giggs, Speeds, Bales, Bellamys, and Ramseys of the future. This is a top facility where a steady stream of top players will be developed. This centre further enhances the strength of current and future Wales squads.”
In outlining the importance of this venture, FAW technical director and Wales national first team coach Osian Roberts explains that “having a home where players can say ‘I’m part of Welsh football, part of the future of Welsh football’ can only help the younger Welsh players coming through, and likewise with the
THE VOICE FAW SUMMER 2012 faw.org.uk
Development is rapid. By April 2013 the first phase of the project will be completed, including the development of a premium grade Millennium Stadium-sized grass pitch, a new floodlit third generation pitch, and a second full size, top quality grass pitch for exclusive FAW