Jockey Club Kitchee Centre: A Modernised Football Training Centre
Situated at Shek Mun, Shatin, the Jockey Club Kitchee Centre is the home of Kitchee Academy, the Club’s youth development. The Centre occupies an area of 15,050 square meters, supporting the daily training of the First Team and the youth development, and is an icon of Hong Kong youth football development.
Previously, the Club conducted its training and pre-match preparations in rented football pitches, while club operations took place at the Wanchai office. After the establishment of Kitchee Academy in 2008, the youth training sessions were held at rented pitches, and training sessions could not be held as frequently as the Club wished. Therefore, the plan to secure a permanent football training centre to fulfil the Club’s vision started as early as in 2008.
After working closely with relevant parties and securing approval from the government, the Club finalised the construction plan of a training area and a service block at Shek Mun, Shatin.
The Ground Breaking Ceremony of the Centre was held on 22 May 2014. The construction was completed a year later and the Centre was officially opened on 9 September 2015, attended by government officials and representatives from various organisations and corporations including the Asian Football Confederation, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and the Hong Kong Football Association. Up to 2,200 sessions (approximately 3,300 hours) of the pitch area would be made available to the public for reservation, where the public could enjoy the nicely-maintained pitch with its associated facilities.
After moving into the Centre, a stable training environment facilitated the blooming of youth development. As the Club continued to expand on all fronts, it was clear that the Centre would need to make a greater impact for the Club and in the community. In the pursuit of enhancing the Club’s training system, the Centre needed to be more scientific and systematic in order to become a rock-solid bastion of sports medicine and science for the players.
Therefore, the Club started to study for the possibility of expanding the Centre. After securing the support from relevant parties, Kitchee Foundation Limited announced the Phase Two Expansion Project for the Jockey Club Kitchee Centre on 28 March 2018.
