The Football Association of Ireland announced that the Republic of Ireland men’s senior team would set up a pre-EURO 2016 training camp at the Fota Island Resort.
The luxury 5-star resort in Cork provided Martin O’Neill and his squad with the ideal setting to prepare for the European Championships in France Summer 2016 .
Management, playing squad and backroom staff were based at Fota for a five-day build up to UEFA EURO 2016, from Monday, May 30th and running through to Friday, June 3th 2016.
Ireland manager Martin O’Neill said that he had visited Fota Island Resort with assistant manager Roy Keane, and had been impressed with the sporting facilities on site.
“I’ve been to a number of potential sites in Ireland and overseas, and we’ve decided on Fota Island because it offers everything we need right here on our doorstep,” said O’Neill.
“I visited Fota Island Resort recently, with Roy Keane, and I know that it has a good pedigree as a base for sporting teams and, in particular, football squads.
"The players will be in France for what will be a long enough period, so it’s good to keep them closer to home for the build-up to such a huge competition, and in a familiar environment.”
The state-of-the-art Training Facility at Fota Island Resort has played host to a number of leading professional football clubs in the past, including senior and academy sides from Liverpool, Manchester United and West Ham United, as well as some of Ireland's underage international squads, and FAI Coach Education courses have also been held there. Watford, Leeds United, Birmingham City and Burnley have also used the resort’s training and recovery facilities, which include two full-sized training pitches.
The football playing surfaces was built to the highest specifications and incorporate top layer sand, seeded with a combination of rye and smooth stalk meadow grass, equipped with a fully automated underground irrigation system.
Also included on site for the Ireland squad was a high performance sports gym, a team meeting room, a kit room, a physiotherapy facility plus swimming and hydrotherapy pools. The squad was housed in resorts iconic Cork hotel which provided the right atmosphere ahead of the big tournament in 2016.
