Plans for a game-changing football academy in Glenrothes have moved a step closer to kick-off.
A £2.3 million indoor football training facility could be open at the Michael Woods Leisure Centre by next summer after a planning application for the development was submitted to Fife Council.
Focusing on the grassroots of the game, the state-of-the-art complex will play home to the Fife Football Performance Academy and the Fife Elite Football Academy.
The development is also expected to attract the attention of top professional teams requiring training facilities over the winter months.
Having initially been unveiled back in January, councillor Mark Hood welcomed this latest step in making the centre a reality.
“This will be the first indoor 3G facility in Fife and will create a centre of excellence for football unrivalled in Scotland,” he said.
“We are committed to growing participation in football throughout Fife and we need to make sure we have the best facilities available to our young people.
“I hope the build phase of this project can start early next year and that users will be able to access the facility for the start of next season.”
The new centre will be built next to the existing running track at the Michael Woods Centre, a facility already utilised by Raith Rovers as a training ground.
Funding of £1.8 million for the complex is to 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.
Central to the new centre will be a 60×40 metre 3G playing surface, equivalent to the eight-a-side outdoor pitch currently in place at the Michael Woods Centre.
Although the complex will be smaller than the much-lauded Toryglen Football Academy near Hampden Park in Glasgow, this new facility is a first for Fife and a game-changer for the east of Scotland.
As well as amateur clubs, the new hall is expected to generate much interest from professional clubs, even those based outwith Fife, looking for top-class training facilities.
