Melwood

AXA Melwood Training Centre, in West Derby, Liverpool is the training ground and academy for Liverpool Football Club's Women's first team, youth teams and academy. It was formerly the men's first team's training ground from the 1950s until November 2020. It was not attached to The Liverpool F.C. Academy, which is at Kirkby. Melwood was bought by affordable housing development company Torus in 2019, as Liverpool invested in the Kirkby training ground so the First Team and Academy could train together, with increased space and better facilities. Liverpool's First Team and Academy have trained at the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby since November 2020. Liverpool's plans to move in the summer of 2020 had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was repurchased by the club in June 2023. The Melwood ground previously belonged to St Francis Xavier, a local school. Melwood was named after two priests, Father Melling and Father Woodlock, who taught football at the school's playing fields.