The Academia Cristiano Ronaldo (English: Cristiano Ronaldo Academy),[1][2][3] formerly known as Academia Sporting (English: Sporting Academy)[4][5] and also known as Academia de Alcochete (English: Alcochete Academy),[6] is the name given to the football training facilities of Sporting Clube de Portugal (Sporting CP or Sporting Lisbon), located outside Alcochete, in Setúbal District, Portugal. It includes the Sporting CP Youth Academy which helped to develop footballers such as Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo from a young age.[7] Both Sporting CP B, the reserve men's football team of Sporting CP's main squad, and the main Sporting CP women's football team,[8][9] play their home matches at the Estádio Aurélio Pereira (named after long-serving Sporting CP's head youth player scout Aurélio Pereira) in the Academia Cristiano Ronaldo, which holds a seating capacity of 1,200.[10][11]
 | |
| Location | Alcochete, Portugal |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°43′49″N 8°51′0″W / 38.73028°N 8.85000°W |
| Owner | Sporting Clube de Portugal |
| Type | Sports facility |
| Opened | 2002 |
| Website | |
| sporting.pt | |
History
editThe Sporting Academy, inaugurated in 2002 and since 2020 officially known as Cristiano Ronaldo Academy, was built on the opposite bank of the Tagus River from Lisbon as a brand new infrastructure of Sporting CP's football training facilities, including those belonging to its youth development system.[1][12]
The academy was one of the training grounds for the Portugal national football team during the UEFA Euro 2004.[13] The academy (by then known as the Academia de Alcochete) was renamed Sporting/Puma Academy (Academia Sporting/Puma) to reflect the sponsorship and naming contract signed by the club and the sports brand Puma in 2006; the contract lasted until 2012.[14]
Sporting Academy was the first sports academy in Europe to receive the ISO9001:2008.[15] – a quality certification awarded by EIC, a Portuguese anonymous society responsible for this type of quality management system certification.[16][17]
In June 2010, Sporting CP signed the first contract for consultancy in sports training at the international level, with Al-Ahli Saudi Soccer Academy, from Saudi Arabia, a partnership that lasted for three years.[18]
On 15 May 2018, after Sporting finished third in the Portuguese league, several players and coaches were attacked by around 50 fanatic supporters of Sporting's ultras at the academy.[19][20][21] Those ultras would be later banned for life from the club and prosecuted by the legal authorities.[22]
On 21 September 2020, the academy was renamed Academia Cristiano Ronaldo, after Cristiano Ronaldo, the most decorated football player ever to emerge from Sporting CP's youth development system.[23][24]
References
edit- ^ a b "Projeto pioneiro e visionário. Academia do Sporting faz 20 anos". www.dn.pt (in European Portuguese). 21 June 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "ACADEMIA CRISTIANO RONALDO". 21 September 2020.
- ^ "A partir de agora, a Academia de Alcochete passa a chamar-se Academia Cristiano Ronaldo". Tribuna Expresso (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ Gault, Matt (31 March 2015). "The Sporting CP Academy Way". These Football Times. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ Inside the Sporting Lisbon academy, where Ballon d'Or winners are made
- ^ "Sporting: Academia de Alcochete vai passar a chamar-se Cristiano Ronaldo". www.sabado.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ Clapham, Alex (16 February 2018). "Inside the Sporting Lisbon academy, where Ballon d'Or winners are made". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Liga BPI: Sporting derrota Marítimo em Alcochete e é líder à condição". O Jogo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ "CGD Stadium Aurelio Pereira, home to Sporting Club de Portugal Feminino, Sporting Club de Portugal B - Football Ground Map". www.footballgroundmap.com. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ "CGD Stadium Aurélio Pereira :: zerozero.pt". www.zerozero.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ "O caloroso abraço entre Aurélio Pereira e Varandas: 'Senhor Formação' está nas bancadas do 'seu' estádio". www.record.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ "Ronaldo aceitou dar nome à Academia de Alcochete, mas com uma ″condição″". www.ojogo.pt (in European Portuguese). 22 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "FPF signs protocol on handing Sporting Academy". record.xl.pt.
- ^ Matias, Jorge Miguel (18 April 2006). "Puma veste Sporting e dá nome à Academia". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "ISO 9001:2008, Quality management systems – Requirements". iso.org.
- ^ "Academia Sporting is the best in Europe" (in Portuguese). DN. 18 January 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Quality Academy" (in Portuguese). Record. 18 January 2010. Archived from the original on 21 January 2010.
- ^ "Three-year partnership with Al-Ahli in youth football" (in Portuguese). publico.pt. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
- ^ "Sporting players, staff attacked by hooded supporters at training ground". As. Reuters. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ Kiley, Ben (15 May 2018). "Sporting Lisbon players attacked at training ground after failing to secure Champions League spot". Sports Joe. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ "Jesus e jogadores agredidos na Academia" [Jesus and players attacked at Academy]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 15 May 2018. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ "Julgamento de Alcochete: conheça as penas de todos os arguidos". www.record.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Academia Cristiano Ronaldo". sporting.pt.
- ^ "Nacional "estupefacto e desagradado" com Sporting por dar nome de Ronaldo a Academia". www.sabado.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 27 September 2023.