Sir Alex Ferguson to offically launch Fleetwood Town's £8m football training centre

Ferguson – the most decorated manager in British football history – will cut the ribbon on Wednesday at the opening ceremony of the club’s impressive state-of-the-art facility

Poolfoot’s official opening will see Fleetwood Town boast some of the finest training facilities in the United Kingdom with 12 grass pitches, two full -ize 4G FIFA two-star standard artificial pitches, a fully-fitted gym, fitness studio, physiotherapy suite, dedicated classrooms, meetings rooms, a top quality bar and restaurant, seven changing rooms and offices.

And it was major coup to get the former Manchester United manager, just back from attending the Masters golf tournament in the United States, to perform the ceremony.

Not only will the facilities – which are already fully open to the public – benefit Town’s first team, but the development of young players with the club now in talks to develop their youth academy to match those operated in the Premier League.

Fleetwood Town chairman Andy Pilley said: “Not only is Sir Alex a legendary manager, but someone whose track record in discovering, honing and developing young home-grown talent is second to none.

“That makes him the perfect choice to open our stunning new complex where we hope over the next few years we can discover, nurture and develop the next generation of young footballers.”

Pilley says he hopes the new facilities will persuade young players to develop their skills closer to home.

He added: “Too many good young players are tempted by the lure of the Premier League, but their development is stifled as they are often lost inside the massive academies.

“We really hope that now we have Premier League-standard training facilities and an academy to match we can find and develop that raw talent.”

The facilities at Poolfoot Farm were constructed to the highest specification after the club’s management toured top training complexes across England and on the continent.

Fleetwood Town chief executive Steve Curwood said: “We’ve taken the best ideas from those complexes, but the greatest challenge was trying to make it work as both a professional training facility and a community sports complex.”