Bannikov Training Complex and House of Football

A lot of the facilities at present in Ukraine are not yet ready for 2012 and some of the training facilities would have Roy Keane running back home like a big baby if he were still a player, so the facilities at the Bannikov Training Complex are impressive in that they are already in place and offer some great opportunities for young players and football specialists as a whole.

A few years ago the site, which is above Respublikansky Stadium, where the 2012 final will take place was just a running track and a badly maintained grass pitch which was occassionally used by non-league teams. The running track remains, as do other facilities for athletics, but they are now flanked by 2 astroturf pitches with stands and the House of Football.

The main pitch is often used for youth internationals including the under 18 tournament also named after Bannikov and some of the matches in the Lobanovskiy tournament, which has morphed into an under 21's tournament since in recent years.

The whole complex is named after Victor Maksimovich Bannikov who died in 2001 at the age of 63. He was both a player and a coach for the USSR and won the award of best goalkeeper in the USSR in 1964 and 1970. Later in his career he became one of the leading lights in the foundation of the Ukrainian League and Football Federation and held the post of first vice-president of the Football Federation of Ukraine when he passed away. He also won plaudits and awards from UEFA for his work in physical training.

It is of little surprise then that the House of Football contains state of the art technology and video facilities to help players and coaches analyse performance. It also serves as a meeting place for experts in the field of football and has recently held seminars on coaching methods and refereeing matters. It has also served as a place where some of the commercial considerations for 2012 have been discussed and decided.

The complex was opened in December 2006 and also houses a museum.

Photographs to follow

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Boca Juniors shirt history

shirt history AS Roma

Sud Tribune, Dortmund