In the image of the Ciudad del Fútbol de Las Rozas, headquarters of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on the outskirts of Madrid, the Catalan territory has begun to design its future House of Catalan Football; a unique complex for the sports and training practice of football, futsal and beach football, which will be located north of Sant Feliu de Llobregat. The intention of the managers of the Catalan Federation (FCF) is that its new headquarters, with training fields, multi-sports hall, residence, medical services and the Mutualitat de futbolistes, will be in operation between the years 2027 and 2028, and can be a training ground for the 2030 World Cup.
The historic and old headquarters on Calle Sicília in Barcelona and the Mutualitat in Plaça Urquinaona are crying out for relief. If we add the deficit of natural grass facilities for football in the Barcelona area, the idea of ??the FCF took shape: to create a sports city that provides services to Catalan football, with two pitches football 11 (one with a stand for 1,500 spectators) and one for football 7 that meet FIFA standards, with changing rooms, gymnasium and medical services, hall for futsal and beach football, a headquarters of 5,000 m2 of offices, rooms and auditorium for 300 people, a residence with 52 rooms, and the mutuality of 2,000 m2 with medical spaces for the footballers.
All this is included in the explanatory report prepared by the FCF to be presented soon to the RFEF and the Sant Feliu de Llobregat City Council, owner of the 68,000 m2 land in the Mas Lluí area, bordering the Collserola natural park . “Now begins a long administrative process, which will require the requalification of the land (from equipment to sports equipment), the tender, competition and drafting of the project, preparation of the budget… Until the foundation stone, about two years”, he estimates Oriol Camacho, general secretary of the Federation, who will opt for the exploitation of the complex by administrative concession.
The Casa del Futbol Català will adjust to the volume of activity – training, matches and tournaments – of the Catalan national teams, and will also be available for international national teams and professional teams. In other words, it does not aspire to be a replica of Valdebebas or the neighboring sports city Joan Gamper of Sant Joan Despí, just one and a half kilometers away, on the other side of the N-340. “The idea is that beyond the 2030 World Cup – to which the joint candidacy of Spain, Portugal and Morocco aspires -, the complex can host training sessions for teams and national teams, which nowadays go to Valencia and the south because here there are no facilities with natural grass”, explains Camacho. “In addition, of course, the use it will have for the Catalan national teams of all categories and for the municipality”. To attract foreign users, the Casa del Futbol has the appeal of Barcelona and the proximity of the airport.
And how much will the party cost, and who will pay for it? “It will not fall below 20-25 million euros, we will not know in detail until the project is drawn up”, says the FCF, which hopes to finance the Casa del Futbol with state resources (via CSD and RFEF), regional ( Generalitat, Diputació) and international (UEFA, FIFA), taking advantage of the manna of the World Cup.
