UEFA President opens FA of Wales centre

UEFA President Michel Platini has visited Wales for the official inauguration of the National Football Development Centre, which took place in Newport.

The facility at Dragon Park, the new home of Welsh football where future generations of players and coaches can develop and perfect their skills, is the result of cooperation between the Football Association of Wales (FAW) and UEFA, under the auspices of the UEFA HatTrick assistance project.

The high-quality facilities will host the national teams from youth to senior levels. The ceremony was attended by Mr Platini, Wales's first minister Carwyn Jones, FAW president Trefor Lloyd Hughes as well as Welsh national team manager Chris Coleman, former Welsh internationals and civic dignitaries.

Mr Platini said: "I always prefer to inaugurate national technical centres rather than national football headquarters because they are what our sport is all about: giving skills and opportunities to young players, male or female, able or disabled, also coming from ethnic minorities and deprived communities.

"Dragon Park is all that and more. A magnificent facility open to all the categories I just mentioned and geared toward the future of Welsh football.

"I am extremely proud that UEFA was able to contribute to the building of these facilities through our HatTrick programme. In many ways this is what gives a daily meaning to my job: to contribute to the development of football in Europe, irrespective of the relative size, wealth or ranking of each national association.

"Sports have contributed tremendously to the fame and recognition of Wales the world over. And even ancient nations with time-honoured traditions and a strong identity like Wales can always benefit from the social cohesion that football can contribute to the fabric of a nation."

First minister Carwyn Jones congratulated the FAW on its vision in bringing the project to fruition. "It's a marvellous day for Welsh football and this will be a tremendous asset for Welsh football and for Wales," he said. "In the past there wasn't a system or the facilities where talent could be developed, but this centre is part of the process of translating success with our clubs into success with the international teams."

The venue, which cost nearly £5m (€5.8m), features three pitches – including a 3G artificial pitch – and a state-of-the-art building providing changing rooms, a training recovery zone and an administrative base for the Welsh Football Trust.

Trefor Lloyd Hughes said the investment proves that even in a small country such as Wales, "the development of the game is held in high esteem". The FAW president thanked UEFA for granting Wales the chance to stage August's UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship – the first UEFA tournament to be held in the country – and the 2014 UEFA Super Cup in Cardiff, and said they would be doing everything to make the events as memorable as possible.

Mr Hughes went on to explain that Dragon Park is going to be in great demand. "In the last four years, there has been a 10% growth in registered boys playing the game and a staggering 72% in registered girls," he said.

Jonathan Ford, FAW chief executive, said these were exciting times for Welsh football with Cardiff City FC winning promotion to the English Premier League for the first time, joining forces with Swansea City AFC in the top flight. "We need players, we need volunteers, we need coaches and we also need great facilities," he said. "This is a great example of that.

"We are doing exceptionally well at domestic level with Cardiff and Swansea, and our grassroots football is extremely strong." Now, he concluded, the overwhelming desire is for Wales to qualify for the 2016 UEFA European Championship.