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St George's Park National Football Centre

St George's Park
St. Georges Park logo.svg
St Georges Park Aerial May 2012.jpg
Established 9 October 2012 (official opening)
Chairman David Sheepshanks
Location Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
Coordinates 52°48′32″N 1°45′22″W / 52.809°N 1.756°W / 52.809; -1.756 (St George's Park National Football Centre)Coordinates: 52°48′32″N 1°45′22″W / 52.809°N 1.756°W / 52.809; -1.756 (St George's Park National Football Centre)
Address Newborough Road, Needwood, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, DE13 9PD
Website www.thefa.com/st-georges-park

St George's Park (SGP) is the English Football Association's national football centre (NFC) on a 330-acre (130 ha) site at Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire. The centre was officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on 9 October 2012.

The purpose of the centre is to be the base for all coaching and development work undertaken by the FA, and the training and preparation ground for all of the England national football teams.

It is also home to the England Rugby League team.

Originally part of Needwood Forest, the hunting grounds were developed by the Berkeley family in the 13th century. After passing into the hands of the crown, in the 1700s the lease again became owned by private individuals. Passing to the Bass family in 1850, the country house was redeveloped in the 1870s, after which an extensive horse racing stud was developed. After the death of Sir William Bass, 2nd Baronet in 1952, the estate was sold off and the house demolished.

Before the proposed development, the FA had two streams of development facility:

Following research by FA technical director Howard Wilkinson, the FA bought the 350-acre (140 ha) site for £2 million in 2001 from the Forte Hotels division of Granada Leisure plc.

Having researched all existing National Football Centres, Wilkinson's project was based on the French system located at Clairefontaine near Paris, which nurtured the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship winners. Projected to cost £30M and proposed to open in 2003, located near the geographical heart of England it would provide the base for Wilkinson and the FA coaching staff to look for and develop the future generations of England stars. The centre's facilities would include 14 pitches, and provide facilities and headquarters from national teams from the age of 14 upwards.


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