Dyrrah City Football Academy
Interactive map of Durrës Sports Center | |
| Location | Spitallë, Durrës, Albania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°21′18″N 19°27′24″E / 41.35508°N 19.45659°E |
| Owner | Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth |
| Tenants | |
| Dyrrah City Football Academy Dyrrah City Tennis Academy Dyrrah City Basketball Academy | |
The Dyrrah City Football Academy is a football training facility under construction in Durrës, Albania,[1] part of a planned wider multi-sports training centre called variously the Dyrrah City Sports Center or the Durrës Sports Center.[2]
The football academy is intended to be run as a joint collaboration between three stakeholders. The organisation and the facility is owned and organised by the Dyrrah City Football Academy Foundation, which itself functions as a part of the Albanian Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth.[2] Football training sessions are run by City Football Group, with coaching coming from a local team employed by CFG and led by staff transferred from Manchester City's youth academy in England. The final partner is Albanian Kategoria Superiore club FC Dinamo City, who arranged for and financed the construction of the physical building and will incur administrative costs in exchange for receiving profits from any future player sales.[3]
In the long-term, the academy plans to create a senior team playing in the Albanian football league system which the DCFA will house also.[4]
Announcement and construction
On 26 April 2023, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced a partnership between the Albanian Ministry of Education and Sports with City Football Group, signing an agreement at Manchester City's City Football Academy in Manchester, England.[1] Part of this agreement was that a City Football Academy training facility would be constructed in Durrës. Renders of the future academy's design were released on 31 August 2023.[5]
On 11 October 2023 it was announced that the Ministry of Education and Sport had been awarded two plots of land totalling 204,350m2 (50.5 acres) in the Spitallë area of Durrës for the purposes of constructing the academy.[6]
Construction work had begun by April 2025, with Edi Rama suggesting an expected opening date of September 2026.[7]
Football operations
Though construction of the facility had not yet begun, the academy itself began operations in mid-2024 and by June 2025 several representative teams had travelled to take part in different competitions in Europe and Asia.[8]
See also
References
- 1 2 "Dyrrah City Football Academy". Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- 1 2 "Call for Proposals". Dyrrah City Football Academy. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
- ↑ "Official Announcement: "Football Club Dinamo City": Winner of the competition for the Construction of the Football Academy Complex in Durrës". Dyrrah City Football Academy. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
- ↑ "Dinamo has no connection with Manchester City, the new academy in Durrës is called "Dyrrah City Football Academy"". balkanweb.com. 14 January 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
- ↑ "The idea project of the Manchester City Academy in Durrës is revealed". Tirana Post. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ↑ "Qeveria miraton vendimin, Akademia e Futbollit Durrës do të ndërtohet në zonën e Spitallës, pronat i kalojnë nën administrim "Durrës City Football Academy"" [The government approves the decision, the Durrës City Football Academy will be built in the Spitallë area, the properties will be under the administration of "Durrës City Football Academy"]. top-channel.tv (in Albanian). 11 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ↑ "Durrës, nis ndërtimi i kompleksit sportiv "Dyrrah City"" [Durrës, construction of the “Dyrrah City” sports complex begins]. Socialist Party of Albania (in Albanian). 21 April 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
- ↑ "City mark one year of development project success in Albania". mancity.com. 5 June 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2026.