An important story begins to be written in Flamengo's youth categories starting this Wednesday (29). For the first time, Rubro-Negro will play official games at CT George Helal. The under-17 and under-15 teams will play at 13 pm and 15 pm, respectively, against Madureira on field 6 of Ninho do Urubu, for the seventh round of the Taça Guanabara. 

The José Bastos Padilha Stadium remains the home of the Flamengo youth teams, but the club is working to expand its facilities and gain the technical advantage of playing matches where the athletes are accustomed to training. Furthermore, everyone involved in the game's operation will be able to utilize the training center's facilities before matches, including the gym, medical department, dedicated nutrition area, and cafeteria, among others. 

Logistics is considered another significant advantage. Before each match, athletes, coaching staff, and other staff report to Ninho do Urubu (Flamengo's training center) and, according to the schedule, need to arrive at Gávea (Flamengo's headquarters) approximately an hour and a half before the games. The journey from the training center to the stadium, by bus, takes an average of an hour and a half, but this can be reduced by a few minutes depending on traffic conditions and the day of the week, as there is less traffic on Saturdays and Sundays. This travel time will be incorporated into the schedule.

The idea of ​​holding games at Ninho do Urubu has been gaining momentum since Alfredo Almeida took over as director of youth football in April of last year. Several friendly matches for younger age groups have already been held there, with the aim of fine-tuning the details for more important games.

The time has come, and for the first time, Ninho do Urubu will host matches for the under-15 and under-17 teams, valid for the traditional Campeonato Carioca, which is strategic as it qualifies for the Copa do Brasil. The two matches against Madureira are being seen as another step to be completed to get the Flamengo home ready for all categories.

As this is still a project under construction, initially the matches played at the training center will not be open to the public. The idea is to observe the needs after each game to improve what still requires enhancements and advance in what still needs to be implemented.