Aston Villa Academy: New inner-city academy next to Villa Park shows growing vision of club
When Aston Villa’s proposal to build a game changing inner-city academy next to Villa Park was accepted by Birmingham City Council in May 2021, the club highlighted its academy as one of the most presitgous set-ups in the country.
The new facility is now beginning to take shape following the erection of the 16.4 metre-high steel structure, which will be the base for a huge dome.
The new site will feature a full-size 3G indoor pitch, a floodlit outdoor 3G pitch measuring 92m x 55m – which will also be “suitable for under 15/16 players” – and six new changing rooms.
Located just 500 yards away from Villa Park, the club started the project with the aim of developing stars of the future for both men’s and women’s teams, and is set for completion by spring 2023.
In recent seasons, the west midlands club have reaped the rewards of their hard work in the academy, with exciting prospects such as Jacob Ramsey, Cameron Archer, Tim Iroegbunam and the recently departed Carney Chukwuemeka working their way up through the ranks.
This crop of burgeoning talent rewarded the faith put in them when they won the Under-18s FA Youth Cup in May 2021 – beating Liverpool 2-1 – and if the club keep investing in this manner, it will be the first of many successes.
In short, the new academy highlights Villa’s aim to unearth the very best footballing talent from Birmingham’s urban and underprivileged areas.
With the club’s more rural training facility Bodymoor Heath not regularly accessible to many young footballers due to the lengthy commute, the new set-up will be easily accessible for young girls and boys of all ages and financial backgrounds.
Owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris are clearly making a conscious effort to increase the club’s presence in the West Midlands and are looking to broaden the club’s reach much further than just Villa Park on a Saturday at 3pm.
Recent success has proven that investment in the club’s youth is a worthy cause, and the new inner-city academy could be the start of a new era at Aston Villa football club.
In other Aston Villa news, Matty Cash showed his worth to Unai Emery with admirable performance against Kylian Mbappe at the World Cup.