PFA
case study
The trophy cabinet
Fit Out Awards
2025
Fit Out Project of the Year - Small Office
The PFA’s Manchester HQ celebrates football’s legacy with immersive design, including a dynamic LED tunnel and engraved red brick wall paying homage to footballers past and present. The flexible space features a media room, lecture theatre, and memorabilia, bringing the beautiful game to life in a vibrant, collaborative workplace worthy of industry recognition.
““We’re a collaborative, progressive and contemporary organisation, and the finished space designed and delivered by Claremont reflects this perfectly and supports our culture. The lecture theatre is particularly exciting. It’s a great use of space when we have players in and classes running. The feedback from staff has been incredibly positive.”
– Patrick Coyle – Chief Operating Officer – PFA
”
Facilities & Management Property Awards
2024
Workplace of the Future
The PFA’s Manchester HQ celebrates football’s legacy with immersive design, including a dynamic LED tunnel and engraved red brick wall paying homage to footballers past and present. The flexible space features a media room, lecture theatre, and memorabilia, bringing the beautiful game to life in a vibrant, collaborative workplace worthy of industry recognition.
““We’re a collaborative, progressive and contemporary organisation, and the finished space designed and delivered by Claremont reflects this perfectly and supports our culture. The lecture theatre is particularly exciting. It’s a great use of space when we have players in and classes running. The feedback from staff has been incredibly positive.”
– Patrick Coyle – Chief Operating Officer – PFA
”
The big idea
Founded in 1907 in Manchester, the PFA has a rich history in the city. Wanting to support its football legacy while also paving the way for the future, the PFA tasked us with creating a space that embodies the game’s spirit, provides a welcoming environment for members and players and ensures a collaborative workspace for colleagues.
Nailing the brief
We’ve brought the PFA brand to life with standout design details and a destination office.
As you enter the welcome lounge, the logo is represented in football studs, but it’s the addition of an immersive video tunnel that delivers the biggest wow. Featuring player footage, floor-level lighting, and audio.
Determined to make the space a celebration of all things football, we showcased the game’s history by including a red brick wall engraved with PFA award winners—a nod to Manchester’s architecture and the fact fans could buy engraved bricks at old stadiums. The space is peppered with many legendary football artefacts guaranteed to make the biggest super-fans smile, including shirts, caps, boots and more.
The final result
The new space has a dedicated desk area, meeting rooms of different sizes, and a lecture theatre— including the same bucket seats as Manchester United’s dugout. A media room with a green screen for live streaming and podcasting and a curtain made from historic football shirts—aptly named the ‘shirt-ain’—provide the ideal spot for the PFA’s content creation activities.
Plus, the welcome lounge and board room can also be opened up to host events or closed down to offer more privacy— providing huge flexibility!
The PFA now has an exciting and contemporary destination that embodies its passion for the game, offering colleagues a memorable workplace experience and giving visiting players a place they can be proud to be a part of.
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