Portugal’s National Soccer Team Has to Have the Coolest Headquarters in Sports
Having won UEFA’s Euro 2016 international men’s soccer championship, the Portuguese are currently ranked third according to the FIFA World Rankings. Now, they finally have a home to match their high standards.
The “Cidade do Futebol” (Football City) will live up to its name, housing three soccer pitches, as well as a separate goalkeeper training field. While Cristiano Ronaldo and co. train outside on the sun-soaked grass, the national team’s sporting federation and staff will be able to operate inside the three independent buildings — the headquarters, football technical centre, and logistics centre.
The three buildings are connected by the fourth building, the Central Hub, and the entire complex is located just 20 minutes away from central Lisbon.
The plot of land extending from 370 metres in length to 220 metres wide is also just west of the “Estádio Nacional” (National Stadium). The Portuguese architecture firm who completed the project, Risco, said of the design that “visually, the building stands out due to the contrast between the lower floors (0 & 1) and the upper floors (2 & 3).”
“The lower floors were conceived as an extension of the stone walls that terrace the land, while the upper floors were designed in a more conventional manner, using glass and ceramic panels interspersed with horizontal elements in exposed concrete.”
“Two key elements were kept in mind when developing the project: to design a workplace where players, technical personnel, collaborators, and managers can prepare their demanding missions intensely; to organize a facility where journalists, fans, and VIPs can engage with the national teams and players in specific locations and only when the national team manager and technical staff see fit.”
We cannot confirm recent rumours, however, that there is a hidden shrine to Portuguese national hero, Eder, somewhere on the premises. If that rumour were true, we would sincerely hope that his bust would be a little more accurate than the bronze curiosity unveiled at the airport in Ronaldo’s birthplace, the island of Madeira:
