"Since training conditions are [now] better, maybe the quality will improve by as much too," FC Kuressaare CEO Danel Tiirats told ERR.

"As for motivation – oh, the kids are already dying to get in here!" he continued. "Their motivation is through the roof, and I believe the results will follow, as the quality improves."

More than 500 youth are involved in football on the major Western Estonian island.

"Essentially four football clubs have already booked the arena from morning through evening, every single day of the week," Saaremaa Sports School principal Mati Mäetalu confirmed. "So the clubs are incredibly interested."

On top of football players, gymnasts received their own gymnastics facilities at the new arena as well.

Kuressaare Football Arena is now the biggest in Estonia in terms of structural width. It also features world-class football turf.

The new arena cost more than €5 million to build, half of which was funded by the state.

The Estonian Football Association (EJL) considers the construction of football arenas to be a potentially significant factor in fostering the growth of Estonia as a football nation.

"In fact, the key in developing football is still the grassroots level," acknowledged EJL president Aivar Pohlak. "So that you have a better selection [from the ground up] of who to work with."

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