CLAIREFONTAINE ACADEMY CLOCKS 30 IN 2018

Next year would see Clairefontaine academy clock thirty years, and 2018 holds the promises of a befitting anniversary celebration.

The academy has really done a lot, especially as they have continued to produce generations of incredible France international talent.

The Montjoye castle which is located almost 30 miles outside of Paris and in the depths of a forest is a renovated 17th century building with five-star facilities.

It houses the Clairefontaine project, a brainchild of French Football Federation President FernandSastre. This academy was inaugurated in 1988 by President Francois Mitterand.

In no more than a decade, France led by some of Clairefontainefinest graduands such as Thierry Henry won the World Cup.

In no time, they followed it up with a Euro 2000 success while also adding final appearances in both the 2006 World Cup and the Euro 2016 as well.

Former Liverpool manager, Gerard Houllier, who in the early 1990’s worked within the Federation,had something to say about the academy.

“Those buildings are more than a fantastic tool. They are a cornerstone, a vision, a philosophy, a place of unity. When they opened, we could not imagine the role this place would play ten years later.”

The Clairefontaine academy is simply a national training centre saddled with the role of equipping Ligue 1 sides with notable football talents as well as the French national Team in the long run.

Teenagers between the ages of 13 and 15 can train at the Clairefontaineacademy. Some of the most famous graduands ever produced by the institution includes Louis Saha, Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka and William Gallas.

Henry had been chosen amongst 25 other boys enrolled at Clairefontaine at the young age of 13. Gallas, Saha and Anelka were some of those who he had as companions. They went on to feature for Arsenal where they became quite famous.