Barca plans academy in the GTA

Calling all future Lionel Messis, Luis Suarezs and Neymars — FC Barcelona is coming to town.

The board of directors for the Spanish soccer giants approved the creation of two new FC Barcelona academies Wednesday, one in Mississauga and the other in Edmonton.

“The purpose of these schools is to extend the methodology of Barca and the values of the club between boys and girls all over the world, guaranteeing them a quality sports training, under the direction of technicians who depend on the club,” the board said in a release.

The new Mississauga and Edmonton academies — known as FCB schools — will accept 300 players and be the second and third of their kind in the country. Barcelona’s first Canadian school opened at the Central Valley Sports Complex in Burnaby, B.C., last September.

Mississauga’s academy will be housed at the Hershey Sports Centre, while Edmonton’s will take place in Fuhr Sport Park. When they open in April, the club will have 19 FCB Schools on five continents.

The “great” response to Barca’s first school, access to elite facilities and an admirable sports culture motivated the club to expand its training centres across Canada, said Jordi Arasa, the technical director out West.

“You see soccer everywhere. You can just go driving and on every pitch at any time you will see people playing soccer,” Arasa said. “It’s everywhere. With that comes the feeling that, from all the areas, everybody wants to bring this to the next level.”

About 250 players, including 19 girls, from the under-6 to under-16 levels are signed up for the inaugural eight-month season in Burnaby.

Players can train either two or three times each week, with a competitive match every 15 days. Prices range from $950 plus tax to $2,950 plus tax, as well as the cost of uniforms.

BCN Sports, Barcelona’s Canadian partner, has conducted 29 camps across the country since 2013. Thirteen sessions were conduction in the Greater Toronto Area since then, with about 1,750 players participating.

Still, don’t expect any youngsters to be heading back to Spain to play in the big leagues immediately, Arasa said.

“It’s too soon to tell. In the future, we’ll see.”