New centre’s a league leader

Top teams get special invite to use Glenrothes facility when it opens

A multi-million-pound football academy has the potential to draw some of the world’s top stars to Glenrothes, it has been claimed.

Manchester United, Manchester City and FC Barcelona are just some of the teams that have visited Fife in recent years to train at St Andrews.

Developers behind the region’s new indoor training centre are confident the dedicated facility is good enough to satisfy the needs of stars such as Lionel Messi and Paul Pogba.

The first facility of its kind on Scotland’s east coast, there are hopes some of the sports’s elite teams could be enticed to the state-of-the-art centre when it opens in the winter.

Andy McLellan, Fife Council’s Sports partnership manager, said: “If Manchester United want to train here on a wet day then they can get in touch. If they want to do some training in the dry then they would be able to come here.”

The complex will be home to the Fife Football Performance Academy and the Fife Elite Football Academy, where the kingdom’s next generation of footballers can be nurtured.

Funding of £1.8 million for the centre has come from Fife Council, with a further £500,000 allocated from sportscotland.

Demand for the new facility is expected to be high, particularly in the winter months, when outdoor training is at the mercy of the weather.

However, members of the public will also be able to book the 60x40m 3G playing surface, equivalent to the eighta-side outdoor pitch in place at the Michael Woods Centre.

Emphasising the benefits for local players, Mr McLellan added: “What we have here is a high quality football centre and that is going to be great for kids and developing players.”

As well as amateur clubs, the new hall is expected to generate interest from professional clubs, including Raith Rovers, which already uses the leisure centre’s training facilities.

Fiona Grant, convener of the Glenrothes area committee, hailed the new hub, saying: “This will add to the already impressive range of facilities available at the Michael Woods Centre.

“Adding a dedicated indoor facility such as this is a first for Fife and I’m confident it will be a real asset for football and rugby communities across the kingdom, not just those locally.”

If Manchester United want to train here on a wet day, then they can get in touch

Picture: Steve MacDougall. Getting a tour of the new indoor football facility in Glenrothes are, from left: site manager Rory Waite, Sharon Johnstone, area manager for Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, architect John Purves and Andy MacLelland, sports partnership manager.