Sports

World famous FC Barcelona soccer club opens training academy in Kissimmee

World famous soccer club FC Barcelona is opening a training academy in Central Florida. The club will offer programs for people between the ages of 5 and 18.
For its first year, the academy will be centered at Austin-Tindall Regional Park on Boggy Creek Road in Kissimmee.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — "FC Barcelona currently has a total of 50 Barça Academy projects around the world, plus more than 180 campuses and 50 clinics, in 56 countries on all five continents, involving more than 45,000 children in the different activities that they run," according to a FC Barcelona news release.

The Orange County commissioner who fought to bring Barcelona to Central Florida, Mayra Uribe, said she hopes the club can offer more than just a fun way for children to stay active.
“We have amazing talent in Central Florida that we're going to find. So, our next Leo Messi, hopefully will come from Orlando,” Uribe said.
The 2019 season starts in August, but tryouts begin June 8.