Can You Visit Cobham Training Ground?


One of the many reasons that the English Premier League (EPL) is the most prominent soccer league in the world is the significant investments that its teams have made in training facilities for their players. These state-of-the-art facilities are the proverbial crucibles where clubs refine and transform their players into world-class talents who are synonymous with success both domestically and internationally. Among the top training grounds include Manchester City’s Etihad Campus, Manchester United’s Aon Training Complex, Arsenal’s Training Centre in London Colney, and Chelsea’s Cobham Training Ground.

Can you visit Cobham Training Ground? No. Chelsea’s Cobham Training Ground and the training sessions that are conducted in it are usually not open for visits from the general public. There are however instances where the club has given its members and season ticket holders exclusive opportunities to sit in on training sessions and even take photos with players and receive special signed items. Chelsea instead organizes open days at Stamford Bridge where fans can see their favorite players train.

The Forgotten Revolutionary

Cobham’s story cannot be properly told without first acknowledging the man who arguably transformed Chelsea from the ragtag set-up it was that seemed to only want to sign big-name players who had little to no positive impact to a fully-fledged club with a proper player development system – legendary former manager Ted Drake.

Drake took over the club in the years following the Second World War when Chelsea was just but a shell of its former self. Like many other professional soccer teams at the time, the English side struggled to find its footing. Rather than have a clear plan to thrive, the club appeared to be only interested in trying to survive.

The ex-boss not only rebuilt their struggling squad and swapped their lackluster training image for one that was focused on ball work but also drastically improved their youth outfit to ensure that they had players to fill their ranks for the foreseeable future.

The former Arsenal forward’s efforts ultimately paid off when the club clinched their first-ever major trophy – the Football League First Division title – in 1955 making him the first player in England to win a top-flight trophy as both a player and a manager.

Many historians believe that Drake created the blueprint that gradually led to significant investments in player development like the Cobham Training Centre after providing proof of concept.

Former Training Grounds)

After exhausting their resources in an ill-timed redevelopment of Stamford Bridge in the late 1970s, Chelsea sold their Mitcham Training Ground, forcing them to switch to a facility in Sipson Lane – the Harlington training ground. League rivals Crystal Palace FC thereafter took over Mitcham.

Since the Imperial College owned the latter facility, Chelsea had to share it with the institution making their training sessions somewhat comical. Club legend Gianfranco Zola can attest to the inconvenient arrangement they had to cope with at the time.

The ex-forward once stayed later than usual to work on his free kicks only to find his belongings discarded outside the changing rooms they used after members of the college showed up to access the facilities.

Harlington served Chelsea from the late 1970s to the mid-2000s but largely proved to be an unconducive environment for the club. The five-time EPL champions made lemonade out of the lemons they had been dealt and even managed to win a number of notable honors including the FA Cup, the EFL Cup, the FA Community Shield, the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup.

Winds of Change

In mid-2003, Chelsea faced bankruptcy after a number of investments they had made at the time left them drowning in debt and losing more money than they were making. Former owner Roman Abramovich however showed up at the eleventh hour and purchased the club for a whopping £60 million.

At the time of the purchase, Abramovich disclosed that his immediate objective after purchasing the club was to ensure that the club regained its former glory. To do this, the billionaire undertook two important tasks.

The first was further opening his checkbook to the club allowing it to acquire fresh talent. The second was commissioning the building of a new state-of-the-art facility upon Mourinho’s recommendation at a cost of around £20 million. After securing the necessary permissions from the relevant authorities, construction officially began in 2004.

By 2005, the club had already started training at the facility. The training ground was officially opened in 2007 with the subsequent additions – a Community Pavilion for Chelsea’s youth squads and an Academy following in a similar fashion the following year.

A Shining Example

Almost two decades later, Chelsea’s Cobham Training Centre is still a spectacle to behold. The entire facility sits on 140 acres and is in every sense of the word a true “campus” hosting the full breadth of Chelsea players (men’s and women’s first teams and reserve teams as well as academy prospects) under one “roof”.

The Cobham Training Center boasts a number of facilities including:

  1. An impressive 33 pitches of which 22 are full size and mimic the pitch at Stamford Bridge. The pitches are equipped with the latest technology allowing players to train year-round.
  2. A gym where players get to carry out their weight training and build up their fitness after injuries.
  3. Media facilities include a press room capable of accommodating at least 40 journalists.
  4. Relaxation pods are located a stone’s throw away from the canteen and allow players to rest in between and after training sessions.
  5. Multiple swimming pools where players conduct resistance training and play team-building sports like water polo. Hydrotherapy equipment is also included.

Over the years, Cobham has garnered a reputation of producing top talents and is currently considered to be one of the top football academies in the world. They include exports like Barcelona center-back Andreas Christensen, AS Roma striker Tammy Abraham, Bournemouth winger marksman Dominic Solanke, AC Milan center-back Fikayo Tomori, and Atalanta midfielder Jérémie Boga.

Current squad players from Cobham include midfielders Trevoh Chalobah, Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, forward Armando Broja, and right-back Reece James who are all having promising careers.

James

I started watching football in the early 90s and was hooked. I fell in love with Chelsea and have supported them ever since. I have also written a book on Corporate Governance and Firm Performance in England and Scottish football.

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