Messina, a 20 million plan by the Australians of the Racing City Group

A 200,000 square metre area for the new Acr Messina sports centre, an International Football Academy linked to the University, an investment estimated at around 20 million euro and a forecast of 200-300 direct jobs when fully operational, in addition to induced employment. This is the first operational package that Justin Davis, international entrepreneur with a professional base in Australia and president of the new Acr Messina 1900 through the Racing City Group, puts on the table in the project to relaunch the Giallorossi club, saved in recent months from further corporate decline. A plan that goes beyond football and aims to build, in the Straits area, an integrated model between sport, training, hospitality and attraction of international investments. On the sporting level, the goal is to build a competitive team with Serie B ambitions and stabilise in the medium term. On the industrial level, sustainability will have to pass through revenue diversification, the strengthening of the youth sector, and international partnerships.

Davis has built his entrepreneurial path between construction, real estate development and investment, maturing more than twenty years of managerial experience in the international arena: in Australia he is involved in activities related to industrial and real estate development and in the management of projects also related to the hospitality sector, while through the Racing City Group he leads initiatives in the world of sports and football academies. His entry into Italia football took place through the acquisition of Acr Messina, an operation that in 2025 led to the birth of the new company Acr Messina 1900 and the start of a process of economic and structural reorganisation.

At the same time, the group also evaluated other football dossiers: in 2025, talks were initiated for a possible acquisition of Lucchese, which did not materialise, while in Spain, the Racing City Group was indicated as part of the new management course of Arandina CF. Elements that outline a strategy oriented towards the construction of an international network of sports projects. Alongside Davis is vice-president and general manager Morris Pagniello, an Italian-Australian executive with experience as a professional footballer, Fifa agent and manager of international football projects. Within the new corporate structure, he plays an operational role in the day-to-day management of the club and in the development of relations with partners and investors, representing the linking figure between industrial strategy and sports activities.

'We are finalising the acquisition of a 200,000 square metre area that will become ACR Messina's new sports centre. It will not be a simple training facility, but a real International Football Academy,' Davis explains.

The project envisages a strategic agreement with the University of Messina to offer young talents from different continents an integrated pathway between sports training and academia. "This model generates a virtuous economic ecosystem: not only the youngsters arrive, but their families, who stay for weeks or months," the entrepreneur emphasises. The timetable indicated foresees the start of construction in 2026 and the opening of the first facilities in 2027, with the involvement of international advisors and specialised architectural firms.