A MULTI-SPORTS centre used for international tournaments and Premier League football training has been officially opened by Cherries manager Eddie Howe.

The state-of-the-art new centre is the latest addition to the top-notch facilities offered at the LeAF Academy in Bournemouth.

It will be used by budding athletes studying at the LeAF Studio as well as pupils from sister schools Oak and Elm Academies and community organisations.

Among the users will also be AFC Bournemouth players who will use the sports hall during the winter months as well as LeAF's strength and conditioning gym.

At the official opening, Eddie Howe said: "We have used this centre and we were not only really impressed with the facilities but also the warm welcome we received from staff and students at LeAF.

"Sport and education go hand-in-hand and the more we can get young people active the better it is for the world.

"The people here at LeAF clearly care about the students. Young people deserve every chance in life and that’s only going to happen with people like that supporting them."

At 27m x 60m and with a 13m high roof, the centre is attracting prestigious sporting tournaments and is already used by Volleyball England for training.

It is large enough to stage international events for a variety of different sports such as volleyball, handball, futsal, basketball, football and netball.

It can also hold a maximum of 1,000 spectators, which makes it suitable for use as a mini arena or flexible performance space.

Executive Principal of the LeAF Academy, Gill Blanshard, said: "We were delighted that Eddie Howe could take time out of his busy schedule to officially open our new multi-sports centre.

"This building opens up many exciting opportunities not only for us and professional sports bodies but also for the wider community.

"We want to open the doors of the centre to everyone and invite local sporting organisations to be a part of this fantastic new facility."

Any sporting organisations interested in finding out more about using LeAF’s Multi-Sports Centre should email ajones@leaf.bournemouth.sch.uk