Football centre gets guarded FA backing

[Brasil]

Football centre gets guarded FA backing


Written by: AFP

	England´s Football Association chief executive Brian Barwick seen here in 18 December 2007, said he was delighted that FA gave the go-ahead Thursday for a national football centre to be built following a board meeting.

LONDON (AFP) - England's Football Association gave the go-ahead Thursday for a national football centre to be built following a board meeting.

The FA said its "preferred" option was for the centre to be built in Burton, central England - a scheme that has already been on the drawing board for several years - but stressed a "detailed exploration of the business and funding plans" would have to be carried out before final approval was given.

Some FA chiefs have questioned the viability of the Burton project and there have been calls for any new centre to be based nearer England's Wembley home ground in north London.

FA chief executive Brian Barwick said: "I'm delighted that the board has given the green light for a national football centre.

"This is a major step forward for the project. There was general agreement within the board that a national football centre would be a major asset in the development of players, coaches and referees in this country."

The plan is to develop a complex similar to the successful French academy at Clarefontaine, south of Paris.

However, Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards is among those who've questioned the feasibility of the Burton project, believing the proposed 60 million pounds (120 million dollars) cost represents a waste of money.

But Sir Trevor Broooking, the FA's director of football development and a former England midfielder, said a new centre, wherever it was based, had a role to play in restoring the fortunes of the national side.

"Everyone involved in the FA's coaching and player development structures believes that a national football centre is vital to the long-term health of English football," Brooking said Thursday.

"We were hugely encouraged by the extremely positive reception from both the professional and grassroots game."

Last week Italian coach Fabio Capello was appointed the new manager of the England team following their failure to qualify for the Euro 2008 tournament in Austria and Switzerland.

But Brooking told Sky Sports on Sunday that English football needed a new centre as well. "It would act as a catalyst - a hub site, for interaction between coaches and players and would raise the level, as it has done in a lot of the other big European countries."