How Man City partnership helped Palermo open first training ground as treble winners commit to take Serie B club to 'next level'

The club inaugurated the City Football Academy Palermo in Torretta, Sicily, on Sunday, which is the first training ground the institution has owned in more than 120 years of history.

The CFG acquired Palermo in 2022 at a cost of €13m (£11m/$14m), adding to City's extensive stable of clubs, which includes New York City, Melbourne City, Troyes, Girona, Montevideo City Torque, Mumbai City Football Club and Yokohama F Marinos among others. The CFA Palermo is the fifth such facility to be built and follows previous projects built in Manchester, Melbourne, New York and Montevideo.

"Today marks an extremely proud moment for both Palermo FC and our City Football Group family," Marwood said. "The new CFA Palermo is much more than a building. It is a home for our players and staff to grow and develop as we work to take Palermo to the next level and start the next chapter in the Club’s great history.

"This new training facility is another example of our commitment to Palermo as we continue to bring world-class football infrastructure to this incredibly special community. We welcome the Rosanero family to their new home here in Torretta and look forward to what’s to come."

"Being here to inaugurate the first sporting centre in the history of Palermo, just over a year after the arrival of the City Football Group, is a source of great pride," said Palermo CEO Giovanni Gardini. "It is concrete proof of what this Club is building day by day to ensure maximum efficiency for the team and all the people who work for the good of Palermo. Planning, sustainability and hard work: this is the only way we know to achieve our goals, which are the same as those of our fans and all those who love these colours."

CFA Palermo consists of two natural grass pitches of the same dimensions as the pitch at the Renzo Barbera stadium (105 x 68 m), a smaller natural grass pitch (32 x 32 m) dedicated to goalkeeper training, a main building and a club house, which blends a traditional Sicilian façade with the latest sporting technology.

Palermo are battling for promotion back to the top flight, currently sitting sixth in the Serie B table after drawing 2-2 at home to Sampdoria on Saturday. Meanwhile, in the Premier League, City thrashed Crystal Palace 4-2 on Saturday thanks to a masterclass from Kevin De Bruyne. They now turn their attention to the Champions League and Tuesday's quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid.