Over the past ten years, Manchester City have become the dominant force in English football, racking up trophy after trophy, season after season.
While it's easy to look at the money they've spent on first-team players to give themselves the best opportunity to win titles, the club has also invested heavily in the youth setup, and that has also started to pay dividends.
Although Phil Foden is the only player to come through at City in recent times and become a first-team regular, there are several other Man City academy graduates who are enjoying brilliant Premier League careers.
Cole Palmer is the standout name, but there is also Liam Delap, Morgan Rogers and Romeo Lavia. Jadon Sancho also came through the ranks at the Etihad, as did Real Madrid's Brahim Diaz.
But where do the Man City Academy play their matches? No, it’s not at the Etihad, but just down the road, or in fact, just over the bridge. It’s called the Academy Stadium, a popular venue among Cityzens fans.
The Man City Academy Stadium
The Man City Academy Stadium, or the Joie Stadium as it is known for sponsorship purposes, is part of the Etihad Campus and is home to the Manchester City Academy as well as Manchester City Women.
Opened on 8 December 2014, it was built on 80 acres of land, with the promise to cater for over 400 youth players a year. The first matches were played on 14 December by students of the Manchester Metropolitan University.
It boasts amenities such as a press room, a board room, offices, and retail spaces. It is also only 400 meters away from Etihad Stadium, where the senior men’s team plays. The building is connected by a bridge that crosses the intersection of Ashton New Road and Alan Turing Way.
It has an overall capacity of 7,000, 4,998 of which are seated. The structure cost around £200 million.
Man City Academy Stadium is a multi-use venue
The stadium played host to three UEFA Women’s European Champion matches in 2022, for Group D (Belgium vs Iceland, Italy vs Iceland, and Italy vs Belgium). All the games nearly reached 4,000 attendees.
It also hosted some World Rugby Under-20 Championships games back in 2016.
Which facilities are available at the Joie Stadium?
Welcome to the Joie Stadium! ?️
We are delighted to announce that @Joie_Baby is the new Official Stadium Naming Partner of the Academy Stadium! ?
— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 14, 2023
The academy stadium boasts a host of top-notch facilities. Given the immense amount of money that the club's ownership has pumped into this venue, it shouldn't be a surprise to find utilities that exist in big stadia across Europe.
For example, there is a press room for pre-match and post-match conferences, a board room where management work on a daily basis and a 190-metre bridge that links with the Etihad Stadium across the road.
There are also 56 seats in the TV auditorium where academy players and their coaches can review match clips for training purposes.
What is the capacity of Man City academy stadium?
Unlike the Etihad which boasts a massive capacity of at least 53, 000 seats, The Academy ground has a total of 7,000 seats. However, we must say that is a pretty good amount of seating for an U21 seating, considering that most top-flight academy venues struggle to have as many spaces for matchgoers. Of the 7,000 spaces, 5,000 seats while 2,000 spaces are for standing fans.
What is the value of the Joie Academy Stadium?
Matchdays at Joie Stadium are all about the action on the pitch, but there's so much more happening at the home of Manchester City Women! From food & drinks to face painting and entertainment, we've got you covered. Find all the info you need for your visit to Joie Stadium.
— Man City Fan Support (@ManCityHelp) September 29, 2024
Reports indicate that the Academy Stadium which is nestled in the Etihad Campus is worth a staggering £200 million. The venue is one of the flagship projects that were initiated by the current Manchester City owner, Sheikh Mansour and was funded by a consortium of companies, some of which are owned by the Saudi billionaire. The space in which the Academy sits used to host a salty industry.
Who is the Man City Academy head?
Thomas Krucken is the current head of the academy at Manchester City. He was previously the head of the youth wing at Stuttgart. Upon his appointment, Krucken expressed his optimism towards developing players of the future. He further opined that five things make a successful football academy namely culture, uniform methodology, people, a good transition phase, a good structure and individual development.
Notably, this is not the first time that Thoma Krucken has worked at Manchester City. He had previously coached the foundation in the 2000/01 season. He thanked the academy director back then, Jim Cassell, who allowed him to work with talents in the younger age groups.
The academy takes in future stars between the ages of 5 and 14 to train and develop in them, a philosophy that applies to the Cityzen's way of playing. Thomas Krucken is supported by Sam Fagbemi who is the head of recruitment at the academy, supported by a host of other football professionals.