Training ground

A training ground is an area where professional association football teams prepare for matches, with activities primarily concentrating on skills and fitness. They also sometimes form part of a club's youth system, as clubs consider it important to have good facilities to aid the development of young players.¹

Training grounds are usually separate from a team's stadium, as clubs use the facilities to avoid overusing the stadium's pitch. However, teams usually train inside the opposing team's stadium on the day before a European away game, both for the benefit of the media and to become familiar with the surface.

There have been several high-profile incidents, at training grounds, where players have been injured in disputes between teammates.² Joey Barton was given a suspended prison sentence, on 1 July 2008, for an assault on teammate Ousmane Dabo on Manchester City's training ground³ and Andy Carroll broke teammate Steven Taylor's jaw in a fight.⁴

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  Germany players Arne Friedrich and Bastian Schweinsteiger training, 2005
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  USA players training during the 2006 World Cup.
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  Manchester United players training at The Cliff, 1992
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  Lennoxtown, the training ground of Celtic F.C.