Footballer Juan Mata to help Populous design training centres

Former Chelsea and Manchester United footballer Juan Mata will take up an advisory role at Populous to help inform the practice on the design of training centres.

The Spanish midfielder and winger will work with the firm’s training facilities design team, contributing insights from his 20 years as a player at some of the world’s biggest football clubs.

His involvement is also set to include design reviews, strategic discussions with projects teams, client workshops and discussion with Populous staff across its international studios.

Mata played at Valencia for four years from 2007 before joining Chelsea in 2011 during a period which saw the club win the UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup and the UEFA Europe League.

He joined Manchester United in 2014, winning the Europa League and the FA Cup again during his nine seasons on the team. He was also part of Spain’s winning team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

“Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to experience some of the best training environments in football,” Mata said.

“What I’ve learned is that great facilities are about much more than buildings. The best environments help players perform, recover, learn, connect and grow. Every detail influences the daily experience of athletes and staff. Populous understands that. 

“Their approach puts performance and people at the centre of design, and I’m excited to contribute my experiences to help shape the next generation of football training centres.”

Populous’ London-based global director Declan Sharkey said Mata’s input would “strengthen the firm’s ability to bring real-world player insight into the design process”.

“Juan has experienced elite football at every level of the game. He understands first-hand what makes a training environment successful, from innovation across player performance and recovery to culture, wellbeing and development,” Sharkey said.

He added: “His perspective will help our teams continue to challenge conventional thinking and ensure our projects reflect the realities of modern football and the needs of players and technical staff”.

Populous said Mata had played almost 200 games at stadium which the practice had designed, including FNB Stadium in Johannesburg and Wembley Stadium in London.