The fields at Luis Suárez Sports City aren’t silent for long.
On any given afternoon, children race across synthetic turf wearing the sky-blue training kits of Deportivo LSM. Some are already dreaming of professional contracts. Others are just trying to stay upright. Parents watch from tidy grandstands, coaches whistle instructions, and behind it all, the echo of one man’s ambition hums through the 20-acre complex just outside Montevideo.
For Luis Suárez, the project began in 2018 as a family dream. Now, with Lionel Messi on board and a professional fourth-division team set to debut in Uruguay‘s league system, the Luis Suárez Sports City has become something more ambitious: an academy that reimagines access, infrastructure, and development for a new generation of players.
“I want to offer Uruguayan soccer, the place I love and where I grew up as a child, opportunities and tools for teenagers and children to grow,” Suárez said.
Where elite training meets community access
The complex sits in Ciudad de la Costa, a coastal suburb east of Montevideo, and features a blend of world-class football facilities and inclusive programming. At its core is a synthetic turf stadium with a capacity of 1,400 spectators. Around it are multiple full-size grass and turf fields, mini-pitches, and youth courts, supporting a steady flow of academy sessions, scrimmages, and amateur league matches. Some estimates place the complex’s full capacity at over 2,000 spectators across its various fields.
But what distinguishes this place isn’t just the infrastructure. It’s the scale and ethos behind it.
More than 3,000 members use the complex year-round. They’re supported by a team of over 80 professionals, from licensed coaches and trainers to administrators and health staff. There’s a semi-Olympic swimming pool, classrooms for academic support, and a full gym designed for high-performance youth development.
“We aim not only to provide sports facilities but also to serve teenagers from a humanistic perspective, giving them opportunities that we didn’t have when we were young,” Suárez explained.
Where most elite academies work like talent pipelines—scouting and filtering players for export—LSM starts wider. Its programs range from beginner training for small children to U-18 competitive squads. The club already fields a women’s U16 team and has quietly built a structure for boys and girls to play, train, and grow side by side. Many won’t go pro. That’s not the point.
Where elite training meets community access
At Suárez Sports City, the goal is to create a shared space where elite aspirations can coexist with personal development. And it’s working. Local media have reported that dozens of players from the academy have entered competitive youth circuits. Now, with LSM joining Uruguay’s fourth division in 2026, those paths lead even further.
The model draws subtle inspiration from global academies, including Barcelona’s La Masia, Aspire Academy in Qatar, and Right to Dream in Ghana. But it doesn’t imitate them.
La Masia is built on selectivity. Aspire thrives on lavish funding and structured schooling. Right to Dream offers full residential scholarships. LSM, meanwhile, keeps its doors open. Membership is priced accessibly. Programming isn’t gated behind tryouts alone. The synthetic turf is shared, not reserved.
“This is a very exciting goal for us, and it represents a huge step forward for me and my family,” Suárez said.
Messi, now a partner in the project, echoed the sentiment. “It’s a great honor and joy for me to be a part of it with you now. Thank you for choosing me.”
Few youth setups anywhere in the world can claim both grassroots openness and facilities that rival pro clubs. Suárez has invested millions of his own dollars into the complex and plans to continue expanding its reach as the club grows into its competitive identity.
For now, LSM is still at the beginning of its journey. But even before its first official match, it has already reshaped what a football academy can look like in Uruguay. It’s a place that treats a child with a ball not as a prospect, but as a whole person. And that—quietly, steadily, its most radical idea.
