While struggling to return to Serie A, Palermo for the first time in its more than 120-year history is getting a state-of-the-art sports center. The Rosanero club's City Football Academy is being built in the hills of Torretta, about 20 kilometers from the city and just minutes from Falcone and Borsellino Airport, in an area of nearly five hectares that for more than three centuries has been used for growing olive trees. The facility, which cost 50 million euros, was created according to the dictates of the City Football Group (CFG), the corporate group headed by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, a member of the ruling Abu Dhabi family, of which the Rosanero club has been a part since July 2022. UAE ownership, which has expanded from the European and world champions Manchester City to a dozen clubs on every continent and various partnerships, has already built its own academies in England, New York, Melbourne and Montevideo. The Palermo FC sports center is the fifth, while six more will be built in the coming years. All City Football Group-branded sports facilities are built to high standards so that clubs can share best training practices and the latest technologies and innovations.
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