Last Sunday saw the official inauguration of Barça Academy Hoover, the latest of the club’s academies around the world. The event was attended by Benny Megreli, Global Director of Barça Academy, and Sergi Barjuan, Sporting Director, together with the former mayor of Hoover, Frank Brocato, along with various local authorities who have helped get the project up and running in Alabama.

On Saturday, both Megreli and Barjuan visited the facilities where boys and girls will train in Barça’s trademark football style, which is implemented across all the club's youth teams and academies worldwide. They also had the chance to watch matches played by different teams, as well as spend time with some of the families, players and coaches.

First phase in Hoover

In this first season, the academy will cater for boys and girls aged between six and twelve, with plans to expand to players up to 18 years old in the following season. Training will be at two venues, Riverchase Sports Park and Hoover Metropolitan Complex, where participants will be able to develop their football skills in an environment shaped by the Barça style of play.

Barça Academies expanding

With the addition of Hoover, Barça now has seven academies in the United States, the others being Chicago, Austin, Carolina, Barça Residency Arizona, Barça Academy Pro New York and Barça Academy Pro Miami. This makes the United States the country with the most academies, followed by Japan with six. With this new addition, Barça now operates 30 football academies worldwide: 10 in the Americas, 10 in Asia-Pacific, and 10 in Europe and the Middle East.