Watch : new £1m investment towards Dons' community sports hub and training facilities
Last updated 12th Sep 2018
Aberdeen Football Club has received a further £1m towards its community sports hub and training facilities at Kingsford. This announcement follows the news that the youth development academy within these facilities is to be named The Bobby Clark Football Academy in honour of the Aberdeen and Scotland goalkeeper.
American businessman, Tom Crotty, who last year invested £775,000 into AFC through the acquisition of shares, is pledging an additional £500,000 which is being matched by Board Director, Dave Cormack. This additional £1 million of investment is being made by way of subscription for new shares in the Club.
Our Sports Editor Dave Galloway has been speaking to AFC's Commercial Director Rob Wicks.
Bobby Clark said he was stunned and humbled by this honour and thanked the AFC board for the recognition. He added: “My special thanks to both Dave Cormack and Tom Crotty as I feel they were very strong supporters of the academy and associating my name with it. Playing and teaching have been my life and to be associated with this new academy is one of the greatest honours I’ve ever been given.”
Commenting on the naming of the youth development academy, Sir Alex Ferguson said: "First of all I must thank Aberdeen FC for recognising one of their greatest players of all time, Bobby Clark. His abilities as a goalkeeper were obviously recognised throughout the country and, when I managed Aberdeen, I was privileged to benefit from his loyalty and honesty. His work as a coach was a tremendous asset to the Club where his discipline and knowledge were highlighted by the emergence of the likes of Neale Cooper, Neil Simpson, John Hewitt, Bryan Gunn and Eric Black. Who would have forecast that these five payers would go on to lift the European Cup Winners’ Cup? I followed Bobby’s career as a coach, which was success after success, and had the privilege to spend time with him at Notre Dame where the fine job he did was recognised by everyone I met there. Well done Bobby and congratulations on a tremendous achievement.”
The community sports facilities and training academy proposed for Kingsford include outdoor, floodlit 3G pitches as well as areas for other outdoor sports and indoor spaces for a variety of community-based sporting and recreational activities. It will also mean that the AFC Community Trust will have a dedicated home and purpose-built facilities to increase their reach and positive influence on people’s lives across North-east Scotland.
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