The project will create outdoor and indoor football facilities

Construction on the Toryglen project, which will boast indoor football facilities and outdoor pitches, is due to begin in September.

Patricia Ferguson said state-of-the-art facilities would help youngsters realise their sporting ambitions.

Scottish Executive agency sportscotland is providing �3m funding, with the rest coming from Glasgow City Council.

Hundreds of schoolchildren in Glasgow will have access to the facilities through the executive's Active Schools programme.

The facilities will encourage wider participation in sport and physical activity Patricia Ferguson Sports Minister

Ms Ferguson said: "The Scottish Executive and its partners are investing tens of millions of pounds in new training and competition facilities across Scotland through the national and regional sports facilities strategy.

"Having state-of-the-art facilities can help realise our sporting ambitions.

"Not only will they help nurture our young sports stars of tomorrow, but they will encourage wider participation in sport and physical activity, which improves health, develops self-confidence and improves quality of life."

'Wonderful addition'

Glasgow City Council's John Lynch said Toryglen was a unique football development and the "perfect neighbour" for the national stadium at Hampden.

"It will be a wonderful addition to the existing top-class sporting facilities in Glasgow," he added.

Julia Bracewell, the chairwoman of sportscotland, said quality accessible facilities were crucial to enable sport to thrive in Scotland.

Glasgow Chamber of Commerce chief executive Lesley Sawers said the project would boost the city's bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games and that it offered youngsters improved recreation facilities.