Manchester City and the Albanian Ministry of Education and Sport have today announced the launch of a Manchester City Football School in Durres, Albania set to open in autumn 2024.

The new facility will utilise Manchester City coaching methodology to provide world-class football education to its players. 

With eight Manchester City Football Schools globally, this is the latest school to be launched as part of the Club’s continuing expansion of its grassroots programmes.

In addition to the Football School, the Albanian Ministry of Education and Sport is also launching an Elite Academy in Autumn 2024 to provide a pathway for local aspiring footballers to reach the highest levels of the game. The Academy will be constructed utilising consultancy from City Football Group, Manchester City’s parent organisation.

Jorgina Busquets, Managing Director Football Education, Recreation and Partner Clubs at City Football Group, said: “We are delighted to announce a new City Football School in Albania today. It is the latest offering as part of a continued global expansion of the Club’s educational programming as we aim to share our coaching methodology, knowledge and experience to develop young people around the world.

“We look forward to working with the Albanian ministry on a number of activities within the country, as we work towards the opening of the school in Autumn 2024.”

Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania said: “The launch of the Manchester City Football School in Durres is a very important development for the Albanian growing sport movement at the end of an exciting year, which brought our National Football Team at the top of its Germany Euro 2024 qualifier group.

“More than that, the launch of the Manchester City Football School in Albania is a new source of positive energy for our country and we’d like to thank Manchester City for working with us on this project.”

Interested players and parents can find out more by visiting www.dcfa.al