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 Le Centre Technique National Fernand Sastre (Fernand Sastre National Technical Centre), commonly referred to as Clairefontaine, is the national association football centre and is one of the nine élite academies of France; only the best players from the Île-de-France région train there. There are eight other élite youth academies in Metropolitan France (Castelmaurou, Châteauroux, Liévin, Dijon, Marseille, Ploufragan, Vichy and Reims) covering the whole territory. Located 50 km southwest of Paris at Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines, Clairefontaine is arguably the finest football academy in the world. It has a high reputation of producing some of the most gifted French players including Nicolas Anelka, Louis Saha, William Gallas and national team top scorer Thierry Henry.
[edit] HistoryIn 1976, French Football Federation president and longtime official Fernand Sastre desired for the creation of a national centre of football. Six years later, the FFF selected Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines as the site of the center. Construction of the centre commenced in 1985 and lasted nearly three years - the centre opened its doors in January 1988. During the 1998 World Cup, which France hosted, Clairefontaine housed the French national team. That same year, the FFF named the centre in Fernand Sastre's honor. A bust of Sastre was put on the grounds in 2000; also present on the grounds is a statue of the FIFA World Cup. The best young football players from the Île-de-France region (of which Paris is the capital) stay at Clairefontaine from 13 to 15 for training and development of their technical skills. Most of the players that attend here are often being tracked by established French clubs and go on to have very successful careers. Today, many top local clubs play at the grounds. The academy continues to develop some of France's most promising talents in Hatem Ben Arfa, Vassiriki Abou Diaby and Gabriel Obertan. [edit] Youth developmentYouth development at Clairefontaine incorporates many principles on football with their students, such as:
[edit] GroundsClairefontaine is an immense football centre, encompassing 56 hectares of land and boasting 66,000 square meters of turfed grounds. It is located in the valley of Chevreuse in the heart of the Rambouillet forest. Clairefontaine has several training grounds, a stadium pitch and even an indoor pitch made of artificial turf. The centre also includes a medical building, gym, fitness room, restaurant and cafeteria. There are even three tennis courts on the grounds. [edit] Photos
[edit] Famous former students[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External linksCoordinates: 48°36′52.07″N 1°55′27.55″E / 48.6144639°N 1.9243194°E
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