FA hopes St George’s Park refurbishment boosts England’s chances of success

The Football Association has announced St George’s Park will undergo “a radical refurbishment” over the next three years.

Opened in 2012, the England teams’ headquarters will be renovated ahead of the men’s Euros, coming to the UK and Ireland in 2028.

The FA says the “SGP 2.0 project” will see the Staffordshire site change in a bid to provide a competitive advantage, meet player and coach expectations and aid innovation.

The governing body said in a statement: “St George’s Park is to undergo a radical refurbishment over the next three years.

“The FA’s home to all England men’s, women’s and para teams will receive significant investment to ensure the world-class facility continues to evolve.

“The ambitious SGP 2.0 project will create a reimagined performance home to inspire and enable England’s players, teams and coaches to be the best in the world.”

John McDermott, the FA’s men’s technical director, said: “With the honour of hosting a home Euros on the horizon alongside other exciting pathway activities, SGP 2.0 will level up our capacity to deliver an elite experience for players and to give ourselves every possible chance for success.

“Development of the site over the next three years helps us to build towards performing at our best in every aspect — for our players to train, perform and recover in a second-to-none environment and for us to build a legacy of coaching excellence supported by the very latest in technology and innovation.”

Work will soon get under way and be completed in phases through until 2028, when St George’s Park will be England’s base for the Euros.

The Staffordshire site will continue to be used by English teams until then, as well as take external bookings.

Kay Cossington, the FA’s women’s technical director, said: “SGP 2.0 offers us the opportunity to consider the needs of our elite women’s teams and female coaches, and to design spaces that work for different groups.”

The FA’s head of para performance Catherine Gilby added: “SGP 2.0 represents a groundbreaking, exciting and ambitious leap forward, not just for English football, but for the global disability sports landscape.

“This world-class facility and infrastructure will provide our elite para-players with an environment to train, recover, and perform at the highest level.

“It is a statement of our commitment to not only leading the way in ‘football for all’ but also ensuring that our elite para-teams have the best possible platform to succeed on the world stage.”