FA announce St George's Park refurbishment to help England 'be the best in the world' | OneFootball

The FA has revealed a multi-year refurbishment project for St George's Park that will see the facility continue to "evolve" as a world class base for all of England's national teams.

Dubbed SGP 2.0, "significant investment" will see the rural Staffordshire complex undergo renovations, starting in 2025 and completed in phases by 2028.

St George's Park has been the home of England players on international duty since 2012, already 13 years ago. During that time, the men's national team has overcome perennial underachievement in previous decades to reach successive European Championship finals, while the women won Euro 2022 on home soil, before narrowly losing the 2023 World Cup final.

Success has also been enjoyed at junior international and para football levels as well.

But the time has already come for an update that will ensure England teams hold a competitive advantage, that player and coach expectations continue to be met, and that it remains a hub of football innovation for the furtherment of the national game.

As part of the refurbishment plans, pitch surfaces will be upgraded to improve wet weather playability, with training effectiveness to be maximised by hub buildings, screens and landscaping, as well upgraded performance and recovery facilities.

Hotel bedrooms and communal spaces will be modernised to better fit team needs, with permanent downtime activities to be installed. Meeting rooms will also encourage creativity in daily work, with bespoke areas and technology to fuel performance innovation.

An upgrade to facilities is coming / The FA

England will be one of the co-hosts for the next men's European Championship in 2028 and men's technical director John McDermott is optimistic about the impact SGP 2.0 can have in the pursuit of success and overdue silverware.

"SGP 2.0 will level up our capacity to deliver an elite experience for players and to give ourselves every possible chance for success," McDermott said.

"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."

Kay Cossington, women's technical director added, "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. We'll offer inclusive facilities which have in the past overlooked various needs.

"Inclusion is at the heart of SGP 2.0, with a new learning and innovation centre and exceptional downtime facilities also slated for the development. Realising the vision of SGP 2.0 means we'll be able to offer a world-class training centre for each and every world-class athlete and coach we train."