January 19 – Plans for a permanent £100 million training base for the England team – renamed St George’s Park – were unveiled by the Football Association today.
The 330-acre National Football Centre (NFC) in Burton-upon-Trent will feature 12 pitches – including one synthetic and indoor – plus sports medicine and sports science facilities, two hotels and a conference centre.
The scheme will fulfil a similar role to France’s Clairefontaine and Coverciano in Italy, and England head coach Fabio Capello has backed the project that is finally taking shape eight years after it was first announced.
Capello said: “The venue will be an inspirational site, a place for coaches and players to work, learn and develop.
“This is a much-needed facility and through my own experiences at Coverciano in Italy I understand the importance of the centre for England.”
The FA have already sunk £25 million into the project since 2001 and the plans also include a private housing scheme for 30 homes near the entrance to the centre that will help plug a funding gap.
NFC chairman David Sheepshanks said: “Our aim is to make St George’s Park a sporting destination of choice for coaches, players, administrators and officials alike.
“In Wembley we have a world-class stadium and in St George’s Park we have the place to inspire world-class performance.
“The funding process is at an advanced stage but we have to wait until the tendering of the hotel – we are down to a shortlist of four hoteliers, any one of which we would be happy to work with.
“We are left with a manageable gap and we have a number of initiatives in play.
“This cannot be a white elephant, it must be sustainable financially and there is a robust business plan that makes this viable and sustainable.
“One of the long-term aims is to see English coaches being educated at the centre and going on to manage our top clubs and national sides.”
England Under-21 manager Stuart Pearce said: “Most of the serious nations in Europe have national football centres – either they have all got it drastically wrong or we have.
“We have to have an environment when we have no excuses about our preparations.
“We have to have British-based coaches who can match the CV of people like Fabio Capello.”
The League Managers Association have committed to making the new centre their future headquarters.