Lommel SK - samengroeien

Lommel SK submits planning application for 'City Football Academy Lommel' Club 18 apr • The Club has submitted a planning application for the construction of a new training facility
• The complex will create a dedicated Elite 1st Team facility, an inspiring environment for LSK Academy youth players and a new Club management center
• The state-of-the-art building will be based northwest of the Soeverein within the current Academy footprint

Lommel SK have submitted a planning application for the development of a state-of-the-art and purpose-built new training facility at the Club's current youth site.
The proposals will initiate the development of a free-standing building and surrounding landscaping and mark the Club's continued ambition to become a top talent hub in Europe.

If the building application is approved, the Club's ambition is to open the new building in summer 2025. With this development, the Club will bring all its non-match-day functions together within a state of the art and contemporary building.

The training complex would become the eighth City Football Academy worldwide, following existing sister facilities in Manchester, Melbourne, New York, Montevideo and Palermo, alongside CFA Girona and Official Licensed City Football Academy Santa Cruz, due to be opened later in 2024. City Football Group are providing infrastructure expertise in order to maximize compatibility with other CFAs and to enhance the knowledge-sharing capability of Lommel’s new base of operations however the Lommel site will be unique in it's location and design.

Lommel SK Performance Director, James McCarron said: “Through this new facility, we are creating a connected and inspiring environment for all our players, from the youngest categories through to our First Team. It will be an exceptional development venue in the heart of Europe, where we will now make the journey tangible for young players. The Club has a strong history when it comes to player training and recently, with the likes of Vinicius De Souza, Manfred Ugalde and Koki Saito, we have had players progress from Lommel to top European leagues. This investment will sustainably contribute to the further development of upcoming talents. For our boys and girls within the Academy, it will be great to be able to work their way literally and figuratively towards their dream destination."

CFA Lommel will have two floors with a functional total area of 2,500m². From this new facility, the First Team will have direct access to newly built training pitches. The Club and construction team has set the ambition to build the facility according to the Flemish GRO tool. Our sustainability objectives will be at the forefront of this construction project, ensuring public accessibility to the site and benefits to the entire Lommel community. Not a single tree will disappear on the site for the entire project.

Lommel SK CEO, Mike Green, added: "We are very proud to talk about our new training facility. First and foremost, this investment will further strengthen our position within the European football landscape and provide great opportunities for players to realise their potential. Additionally, CFA Lommel is a wonderful next step for Club, City of Lommel and the wider region; we are showing our ambition to continue to grow as a Club while showing our commitment to our fans and partners. This will be an extraordinary facility on a beautiful site where football and our core values of talent development, community and sustainability come together. Given the Bosland National Park developments, we truly are moving forward together here in Lommel."

This investment fits within the Club's sustainable growth objectives and also with spatial development plans to open up the gateway to Bosland National Park and the cycling and walking boulevard that leads directly from Lommel city center into Soeverein Park and the Lommel Sahara.

The Mayor of the City of Lommel, Bob Nijs, also expressed his excitement for the project: “Every Lommel resident has been able to follow the Club's growth in recent years. Their cooperation with schools and disadvantaged groups but also the Healthy Goals football field in the Lommel playground testify to a strong sense of community. These investments made in and around the Sovereign Stadium can also make our football supporters proud again. We are therefore very happy that Lommel SK is further investing in opportunities for talented youngsters at the Lommel youth site. Combined with the opening of House of Nature in Forest Land National Park and the construction of a cycle-safe link, which we as the City of Lommel are developing, this will be a wonderful overall site."

Lommel SK will continue to follow the predetermined schedule to start the works in the summer of 2024. The Club will also continuously inform its stakeholders about progress. CFA Lommel