The United States has not quite been a hub for football over the years and is now rising on the map of the sport globally.
They are set to host the FIFA World Cup next year and this season’s Club World Cup is a trailer of sorts to the global event scheduled a year down the line.
Unsurprisingly, the infrastructure for teams participating in the event is far from up to the mark. Currently in the USA for the aforementioned club event, Real Madrid have thus been hit by a serious shock as relayed by MARCA in a recent update.
A barren training facility
The Gardens North County District Park was given to the men in white to be their headquarters and training centre for the FIFA Club World Cup.
To the surprise of the Merengues’ organising department, however, the facility had absolutely no infrastructure when they visited to inspect it a year ago.
The location in Miami has no changing rooms, showers or quality fields whatsoever and the club thus faced a steep task of bringing the venue to shape before Xabi Alonso’s team arrived for the competition.
Preparing for FIFA Club World Cup. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Given that it is also a centre for the World Cup next year, it was a real shocker for the Real Madrid board.
That, however, did not stop Real Madrid as they successfully managed to convert the public park into a training facility where the men in white are currently practising.
The 33-acre municipal park was partially transformed by the local authorities with the help of a $100,000 fund from the Palm Beach County Sports Commission.
But Real Madrid have installed several temporary structures including heated tents, changing rooms and portable showers from scratch to bring it to shape.
Further, they have also had to put up temporary structures for players’ ice baths and a mobile gym for training, none of which were available prior.
To date, a part of the park remains open to the public for use and Real Madrid have thus had to ensure extra care with player security and access to the facilities. The hope, needless to say, is that they conquer the hurdles and go on to win the title.
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