Man United’s women’s team forced to start pre-season training 69 MILES away from club’s base at England’s St George’s Park after being kicked out of their HQ by men’s team… with players forced to stay on site to avoid 90-minute commute
Manchester United’s women’s team will train at St George’s Park as they prepare for the new season after being evicted from their permanent facility to make way for the men’s team.
The £50million refurbishment of the Red Devils men’s team, Carrington, meant the women’s players had to move to a temporary base to accommodate the men.
It was said that United considered several options regarding housing the women’s team before concluding it was best to keep the team at Carrington in some form or another.
However, the decision to remove them from their usual facilities has disappointed some members of their team and staff.
Now, however, according to The AthleticsThe women’s team have finally found a home base as Marc Skinner’s team move into the Football Association’s St George’s Park.
Manchester United’s women’s team have reportedly found a new training base after being effectively evicted from their current base
St George’s Park is just over an hour and a half’s drive from the club’s main base at Carrington
The women’s team will use temporary facilities at Carrington this season, while the men’s team will take up their usual base
The move has raised further concerns about Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s commitment to the women’s side
The original news came after a tough few days for the club, with questions increasingly being asked about new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s commitment to the women’s team.
The backlash has only grown since the women’s team, who finished fifth in the Women’s Super League and won the FA Cup last season, moved to rural Staffordshire.
It is expected that they will use the base for two to three weeks, which will bridge the time that temporary facilities are being set up at Carrington.
It is understood the players will remain at the training ground rather than making the 90-minute return journey from Manchester.
They then return to Carrington, where they use the old men’s gym and their usual football pitches to prepare for the new season.
Carrington is undergoing work on its gym, medical, nutrition and recovery facilities as the club looks to modernise its home base.
Announcing the £50m renovations to modernise the men’s facility at Carrington, the club explained: ‘Temporary adjustments are being made to the remainder of the Carrington building to ensure that players and staff from all our teams can continue to operate successfully next season.’
The portable buildings are to house changing rooms, meeting rooms, common areas and office space. However, the women’s team is still expected to use the same pitch and canteen as before.
According to the report, Marc Skinner’s team will move to St George’s Park for the next two to three weeks
Ratcliffe has previously been reluctant to talk about the women’s team, which won the FA Cup last season
Ratcliffe said he was ‘primarily focused on how to resolve the issues with the first team’
Ratcliffe recently led an end-of-season review of the men’s team, which led INEOS to decide to retain Erik ten Hag as manager.
But when Ratcliffe was asked about the club’s plans for the women’s team during a wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg, the 71-year-old had little to say.
When asked what he would do with the women’s team, Ratcliffe replied: ‘Well, they’ve just won the FA Cup.’
Asked whether United would look for outside investors such as Chelsea, Ratcliffe said: ‘We haven’t really gone into any detail about the women’s football team yet.
“We’ve been focusing on how we solve the issues with the first team, especially in that environment. That’s been pretty full-time for the first six months.”