Global Fútbol

SD Huesca has spent two of the past three seasons in LaLiga Santander, overcoming the odds to reach Spanish football’s top division for the first time in the club’s history. With the new income that this offers, the club has chosen to invest in many off-the-pitch improvements, among them the renovation of all the structures at the Estadio El Alcoraz. From this point, the club is focused on developing the Aragon region’s youth football programmes, with an ambitious new academy project to begin this month. 

The Aragonese Youth Football School, created by SD Huesca and the club’s Alcoraz Foundation, is framed around a youth football plan in partnership with the Government of Aragon and the Huesca Provincial Council. The latter will contribute €3.5m to this public-private collaboration. 

The centrepiece of the project is a residence for housing 80 young footballers on the site of the IES Pirámide school complex, where the youngsters will have quality accommodation to develop their football skills as well as ongoing support for their academic study.  

Once open, the club expects the residence to create new opportunities for youngsters across the region while making Huesca an attractive destination for prospective footballers from further afield.

Expanded facilities
Work will be carried out on the school grounds to remodel various buildings and sporting facilities. Two new football pitches will be constructed, one of them an all-weather artificial pitch and the other a natural grass pitch that meets FIFA’s recommended dimensions. That will take the complex’s total number of football pitches up to four. Additional dressing rooms, a gym, a padel court, a press room, classrooms, a medical centre and a storage unit will also be built by the pitches.

SD Huesca’s Alcoraz foundation is tasked with executing this project, which is an important responsibility for all involved with the club and its charitable foundation. 

José Antonio Martín ‘Petón’, a club legend and President of the foundation, said: “This will be a place for talent to grow. This is described as an Aragonese project because it looks beyond just this province when it comes to recruitment. It will welcome boys and girls from across this community. This will enhance football across Aragon which is something to be proud of. It’s one of the most important days in the history of SD Huesca.”

Opening summer 2022
On Monday, May 31st, the club and the foundation signed the agreement for the new project along with Aragon’s Education, Culture and Sports Minister Felipe Faci and the Huesca Provincial Council’s President Miguel Gracia, with attendance from Huesca City Mayor Luis Felipe. 

The foundation will be the organisation responsible for executing the project and managing collaborations with the authorities who have become involved. “I thank those who have always backed us and who have understood that this is a project that will benefit our future,” Petón added. 

Works will get underway this month and will be completed over the coming year, with completion scheduled for the summer of 2022.