Where does the Man City academy play?

Over the past decade, Manchester City have established themselves as one of the dominant forces in English football and their success in major competitions including the Premier League and Champions League highlights the impact of long-term investment in both their academy and infrastructure.

Indeed, the Citizens’ academy sides have enjoyed a similar level of success since the City Football Academy opened in 2014; while the Under-18s have won five Premier League national titles and two FA Youth Cups, the Elite Development Squad (Under-21s) celebrated an unprecedented fourth successive PL 2 title in 2024-25.

Since the arrival of managerial mastermind Pep Guardiola in 2016, Man City have produced a plethora of talented players who have either developed into first-team stars or have been sold on after opting to progress their careers elsewhere.

The likes of Cole Palmer, Jadon Sancho, Morgan Rogers, Liam Delap, Romeo Lavia, Brahim Diaz, Kieran Trippier and Tosin Adarabioyo all featured at youth level for Man City before moving on, while players including Phil Foden, Rico Lewis, Nico O’Reilly and Oscar Bobb are currently in Guardiola’s first-team squad.

So many will wonder where do the Man City academy play their matches?

Man City's Academy Stadium – The Joie Stadium

While Man City’s senior side play at the Etihad Stadium the club’s academy and women’s teams play just down the road, or in fact just over the bridge at what is called the Joie Stadium, as it is known for sponsorship reasons.

Opened on December 8, 2014, it was built on 80 acres of land with the promise to cater for over 400 youth players each year. The first games were played on December 14 by students of the Manchester Metropolitan University.

Man City's Joie Stadium is a multi-use venue

The stadium played host to three UEFA Women’s European Championship fixtures in 2022, for Group D (Belgium vs. Iceland, Italy vs. Iceland, and Italy vs. Belgium). All three matches reached close to 4,000 attendees.

It also hosted some World Rugby Under-20 Championships games back in 2016.

Which facilities are available at the Joie Stadium?

The academy stadium boasts a array of best-in-class facilities and given the significant investment that the club's ownership has pumped into this venue, it should not be a surprise to find that utilities at the Joie Stadium also exist across some of the biggest stadiums in Europe.

For example, there is a press room for pre-match and post-match press conferences, a boardroom where management work on a daily basis and a 190-metre bridge, named the Nexen Tire bridge, that crosses the Alan Turing Way/Ashton New Road junction and connects the Joie Stadium to the Etihad Stadium.

In addition, 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 the Joie Stadium?

Joie stadium is modest in size with a capacity of 7,000. This is a healthy amount of seating for academy football, especially when you consider plenty of EFL teams are unable to bring in as many supporters for matches. The 7,000 capacity is made up of 5,000 seats and a standing area that can fit 2,000.

What is the value of Man City's academy stadium?

It is understood that the Joie Stadium is worth around £200 million. The venue is one of the flagship projects that was initiated by the current Man City owner, Sheikh Mansour and was funded by a consortium of companies, some of which are owned by the Saudi billionaire.

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

Who is the current head of academy at Man City?

Thomas Krucken is the current head of the academy at Man City. He was previously the head of the youth wing at Stuttgart and joined Man City in 2023. Upon his appointment, Krucken expressed his optimism towards developing players of the future and suggested that six 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 Man City. He had previously coached the foundation in the 2000-01 campaign. 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 five and 14 to train and develop them, a philosophy that applies to the Citizen'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.