DALTON, Ga., Jan. 14, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Manchester United Soccer Schools (MUSS) have joined forces with Disneyland Resort Paris to build their first permanent training facility in Europe at Disney's resort in Marne-la-Vallee, France. The venture, scheduled to open in Spring 2004 brings together Europe's most popular tourist destination and the world's most popular football club.
The Manchester United Soccer School will be constructed near Disney's Sequoia Lodge, a few minutes walk from the Disney theme parks. The world class synthetic turf will be 112 m x 75 m, designed and installed by FieldTurf, the leader in artificial turf systems. It will include approximately 20 tons of "Nike Grind" material made of byproducts from manufacturing of Nike footwear outsoles as part of the company's Reuse-A-Shoe program.
"FieldTurf has come full circle," said John Gilman, FieldTurf CEO. "When we first developed FieldTurf and began the artificial turf revolution, we wanted to see kids and athletes of all ages around the world playing more sport and playing it better and safer. Over the years, this vision has become a reality. And now to be selected by Manchester United Soccer Schools for this prestigious installation is the ultimate compliment."
Young footballers from around Europe will be able to participate in an unforgettable sports experience. They will be offered a two-and-a-half-hour training session with professional MUSS coaches, where youngsters will learn to dribble, shoot pass, and control the ball like United stars such as Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, all using the famous teaching methods of the Old Trafford club.
MUSS will hold three sessions per day, seven days a week during which they will oversee two and a half hours of technical training for groups of children aged between 7-14 years old from all over Europe. They will have at their disposal the latest equipment available to develop and nurture future football stars' talent, which may include free kick walls, passing gates for accuracy, player mannequins to practice dribbling skills, speed agility equipment to help improve footwork, speed and balance, shooting Targets and inflatable apparatus.
"Our objective was to replicate the playing characteristics of natural grass, provide increased player comfort and safety, and offer stadia management lower maintenance costs and extended usage opportunities," said Hank Steinbrecher, FieldTurf Vice-President and former General Secretary / Executive Director of the U.S. Soccer Federation, a leading voice in world soccer and a strong proponent of the FieldTurf system. "We've done just that and our 785 pitches worldwide are a testament to our success," he added.
The FieldTurf System, certified by UEFA, is the same FieldTurf system you'll find everywhere in the world," said David Wright, FieldTurf Director, European Business Operations. "There are no variations in our product. FieldTurf's exceptional performance is in its unique and patented engineering. Recognized around the world for its exceptional quality and playability, FieldTurf looks like, feels like, and plays like grass. FieldTurf has withstood the test of time, with installations in use all day, everyday for more than eight years. That is why we are the market leaders," he added.
FieldTurf is the pre-eminent artificial playing surface and was the first artificial pitch to be used in European football competition. UEFA gave Torpedo Moscow the green light to play their UEFA Cup qualifying round home leg against San Marino's Domagnano on FieldTurf.
Top Football leagues and clubs currently practicing and playing on FieldTurf include: UK's Premier League (Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle United FC, Middlesbrough, Blackburn, Leeds United, Manchester City, Fulham, Aston Villa, Birmingham City and Charlton Athletic); the Scottish Premier League (Glasgow Rangers); Germany's Bundesliga (Werder Bremen); Russia's Lokomotiv and CSKA and Spain's Primera Liga (Barcelona).
FieldTurf's FIFA Recommended pitches include Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, Papa John Stadium in Louisville, KY; USA, Bescot Stadium in Walsall, England; Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ; USA; Glasgow Rangers FC in Millingavie, Scotland; Futebol Clube Marinhas in Esposende, Portugal; City of Outremont in Montreal; Centre de Formation de TFC in Toulousse, France; Seahawks Stadium in Seattle, WA, USA; Luzhniki Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia; The Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan; Issa Town Stadium in Bahrain; Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa, Canada; Weingart Stadium in Los Angeles, CA, USA; Belson Stadium at St. John's University in New York, NY, USA; Fanny Blankers Field in Almere, Holland, Nickerson Field at Boston University in Boston, MA, USA and Molson Stadium in Montreal, Canada.
About FieldTurf and Nike Reuse-A-Shoe:
FieldTurf formed a strategic alliance with Nike and the 10-year-old Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program in 1997. For the first several years of the alliance, FieldTurf incorporated Nike Grind rubber material from post-consumer and defective athletic shoes collected through the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program. As the alliance developed and the demand for FieldTurf products grew, Nike and Fieldturf worked closely to incorporate rubber material comprised from byproducts of the manufacturing of Nike outsoles into its stream of recycled material used for the in-fill of FieldTurf soccer and football fields.
Nike Reuse-A-Shoe is an integral part Nike's long-term environmental goals of zero waste and 100% recoverable product, as well as the company's social goal which focuses on increasing the participation of young people in physical activity to improve their lives. Since its inception in 1993, the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program has recycled more than 15 million pairs of shoes (both post-consumer athletic shoes of any brand and Nike shoes with material or workmanship flaws) and has helped donate over 150 athletic courts, tracks, fields and playground surfaces to communities around the world. Nike Grind material is also used in a wide variety of other sports surfaces such as the Manchester United Soccer School field. For more information about Nike Reuse-A-Shoe and NikeGO, visit www.nikereuseashoe.com and www.nikego.com.
FieldTurf is a privately held company based in Montreal that also offers a full range of sports, stadia, golf, landscaping and playground artificial grass solutions. For more information on FieldTurf, please visit www.FieldTurf.com, or call (800) 724-2969.
For more information on MU Soccer Schools, please visit www.manutdsoccerschools.com or call + 44 (0)161 868 8585