CITY FOOTBALL ACADEMY 
MANCHESTER

“We are building a structure for the future, not just a team of all-stars,” said Sheikh Mansour at the outset of his ownership in 2008. This pledge holds true today as the focus remains on nurturing and preparing young talent for the senior professional game while remaining firmly rooted in community. 

A cornerstone of that vision is sustainability – starting with best-in-class infrastructure that supports young footballers from all backgrounds to develop in a safe, diverse and inclusive environment surrounded by the best facilities, coaches, practitioners and operations staff. 

This vision remains underpinned by an unwavering commitment to local regeneration – both economic and environmental.

After six years of research, development and construction, the City Football Academy in Manchester opened in 2014. The CFA Manchester is not only an elite training centre home to City Men’s and Women’s teams of all age groups; the campus also serves as a single, interconnected operational base for all Manchester-based staff as well as the global headquarters for CFG.

CFA Manchester has become a leading model within global football. The facility laid the foundation for CFG to create a unique and sophisticated framework of infrastructure intellectual property. CFG’s framework and know-how has since been rolled out across CFG clubs around the world. 

Now, CFG has a network of City Football Academies all around the world based on best practices started in Manchester. CFG has a blueprint for both beautiful football and best-in-class football infrastructure.