Napoli's new training centre at Qualiano will not be signed before 2027

Napoli's plan for a new training centre has moved from site visits to the lawyers. Over the past two weeks, the legal teams of all the parties involved have started drafting contracts for land in Qualiano, the town Aurelio De Laurentiis has chosen as the club's future home. No binding agreement has been signed in the club's name yet.

The plans include pitches of every size for every age group, accommodation for players, dedicated facilities for the youth sector and offices for a management structure that keeps growing. On Tuesday 10 November Roberto Monzani arrived from Milan as the club's new Chief Marketing Officer.

The Special Economic Zone sets the timetable

The next step is administrative, and it decides everything. In the coming days De Laurentiis is expected to apply for the benefits of the ZES, the Single Special Economic Zone for southern Italy. A few days after the application goes in, a Conferenza di Servizi (a joint review by the public bodies involved) is convened automatically to assess every aspect of the project. Its verdict, with the reasons behind it, takes about 50-60 days. The owners can sign the contracts and buy the land only once they hold the permits. That pushes the deal into 2027.

The club will spend about €2m on the land, plus charges and related costs. It is not a huge figure, but it matters symbolically: it would be the first property Napoli genuinely own in the area after more than 20 years under De Laurentiis. The club has been looking for a home for some time, partly because Castel Volturno, the current training ground, will not be available for much longer. Its owners have other plans, and Napoli are not part of them.

The timing is the problem

To be clear, a training centre of their own is the right project, and Napoli have never had one. Player accommodation and youth pitches help build something that lasts.

The timing of the news, though, matters. It comes in a week when the team are tenth with 15 points from 11 matches. That equals the lowest total of the De Laurentiis era and leaves them 9 points off fourth place, the target Allegri set publicly. It also comes days after Curva A and Curva B, the two ends behind the goals at the Maradona, put up a banner accusing the president of caring only about "monetary value" in the club's centenary year. The supporters in those stands are hearing about hectares, offices and branding while their team goes three matches without a win.

Valore monetario

The Qualiano project has nothing to do with the team's problems, and nobody expects it to solve them. But the club owes answers on two fronts. On the training centre, the Conferenza di Servizi sets the pace. On the pitch, the fixture list does, and the next deadline is close: Torino visit the Maradona on Saturday 21 November at 20:45 CET (19:45 UK, 14:45 ET). It is Napoli's first home game since the supporters' protest on 8 November, and there will be no 60-day wait for that verdict.