Queens Park Rangers reveal new training facility

Daniel Sedlarevic14/08/2023 5:55 am15/08/2023

Image credit: PanStadia & Arena Management

English Championship football club Queens Park Rangers has presented its brand new cutting-edge practice facility.

The facility situated in Heston, a neighbourhood of the London Borough of Hounslow, will house the club’s first team, Under 23s, and academy teams beginning in the 2023–24 season.

The facility has been designed by Studio Zoppini Architects and delivered by a project team including: global design engineering consultants Buro Happold, planning advisors HGH Consulting, and contract administrators Arcadis.

The building’s domestic profile permits an extruded form that allows for internal zoning and spatial appeal in important places. The primary social areas, the gym and eating areas offer views of the practise fields and the surrounding countryside but are separated from the entrance by a wall.

The orientation and exterior of the building have been planned to incorporate natural ventilation and lighting, incorporating passive design features and improving working conditions for all employees, including players.

Full multidisciplinary engineering services were provided by Buro Happold, resulting in a project with outstanding sustainability credentials. The facility uses a lot of air source heat pumps and has 922 square metres of solar photovoltaic panels for on-site renewable energy regeneration. The structural engineering team at Buro Happold also reduced the project’s carbon footprint by pressing for cement substitution where appropriate and suggesting lightweight partitions to reduce the pressure on the steelwork.

Steve Macey, director at Buro Happold, stated via press release:

“It’s fantastic that QPR’s new training ground is complete and ready for its teams to start training ahead of the new football season. We’ve been involved over a number of years to consolidate the club’s first team with the academy onto a single sustainable site, and this is the culmination of all that hard work.”

QPR’s innovation is a step in the right direction as technology advances as a crucial part of the game, with their new facility demonstrating this.

QPR will focus on their upcoming EFL Cup tie against Norwich on August 17.

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Mitre Extends Role as Queensland Football’s Official Ball

Miles Earl06/10/2025 6:15 am05/10/2025

Image credit: Football Queensland

Football Queensland has extended its partnership with Mitre as the official ball partner and main ball supplier to the Queensland football community until 2028.

Mitre footballs will continue to supply the official competition ball for the NPL Queensland, FQPL leagues and FQ Academy leagues and events.

Football Queensland CEO, Robert Cavallucci, expressed his enthusiasm for the renewal between FQ and Mitre and their continued support of the Queensland football community.

“Since first announcing our partnership three years ago, football in Queensland has experienced tremendous growth, and Mitre has stood alongside us and our clubs every step of the way,” he said in a press release.

“This renewed partnership ensures that our community will continue to have access to high-quality equipment so that all our players and clubs across Queensland can enjoy the beautiful game at its best, no matter where they are.”

Since 2017, Mitre has expanded its partnerships to state member federations in Australia by being the official match ball of NPL NSW, NPL Victoria, Football West and NPL NNSW.

The Ultimax Pro is one of the most popular football’s for Mitre. It features hyperflow debossed grooves across the ball and utilises thermally bonded construction technology for enhanced shape retention and durability.

Mitre Australia’s Director of Sportsmart Group, Gerrard Woods, was also excited about the partnership renewal with Football Queensland.

“Mitre has a long history in the game, and we’re committed to ensuring that all players and clubs can enjoy the great game with the very best equipment,” Woods said in a press release.

“Together with Football Queensland, we look forward to building on the growth of recent years as we work together to help the game reach even greater heights across the state.”

Mitre has become a vital part of the Australian football ecosystem with their quality match balls and unwavering loyalty to multiple different state federations. This ends up being an obvious decision for Football Queensland who maintain the strong connection with Mitre for another three seasons at least.

Leverkusen CEO Calls for Global Salary Cap to Level Football

Theo Athans06/10/2025 6:05 am05/10/2025

Image Credit: Ralf Ibing – firo sportphoto/Getty Images

Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro has called for the introduction of a global salary cap, modelled on the NBA system, in an effort to reduce the Premier League’s financial dominance and restore competitive balance across European football.

Carro’s proposal centres on creating an international wage ceiling that would apply equally to all clubs, ensuring a level playing field for teams regardless of league or market size.

He emphasised that the concept could only succeed if implemented globally, preventing clubs in wealthier leagues from gaining an unfair advantage.

While UEFA already enforces spending controls linked to club revenues, financial inequality across Europe continues to widen. In the 2023/24 season, the Premier League generated more than €7.1 billion in revenue which is nearly double that of the Bundesliga, which brought in around €3.6 billion.

This revenue gap allows English clubs to consistently outspend their continental rivals in transfer fees and wages.

Carro’s comments have reignited discussions around financial sustainability and competitive fairness in football, raising the question of whether sweeping reform is necessary to preserve balance within the global game.

Carro spoke at the Bloomberg Future of Finance congress in Frankfurt where he warned that the Premier League’s financial power could soon overshadow even the UEFA Champions League.

“The Premier League wants to become the number one product in Europe, even ahead of the Champions League,” he said at the event.

“English clubs easily outstrip their competitors in terms of revenue. I’m usually against regulation, but this is something we have to try.”

A global salary cap could help narrow the economic divide between leagues and promote greater equality across world football. However, critics argue that it risks undermining the traditional open-market structure that has long defined European football.

By borrowing from the American sporting model, such a move could represent a major cultural shift away from the continent’s deep-rooted footballing traditions.