Football’s new home kicks off long road to victory

EVER since the late, great Bobby Moore lifted the Jules Rimet trophy aloft in front of an ecstatic crowd at Wembley, England fans have dreamt of seeing their team win the World Cup again. But 46 long, painful years have passed since that heady summer’s day. They have been littered with near misses (usually against Germany or Argentina) and broken metatarsals but have always ended in the same predictable heartbreak.

The question of why England have failed to win a major footballing tournament is one that has vexed pundits, players, managers and fans alike for decades. While views about tactics and coaching methods may differ, they usually agree that if we are going to win the World Cup we need to produce a golden generation that can, finally, live up to its potential. And to do that we need some sort of centre of excellence.

The idea of a National Football Centre (NFC) has been talked about for 30-odd years but, as with the England team, there have been a few false dawns. Work actually started in 2001 but stalled and then stopped altogether. With the project in need of new impetus, it came in the shape of Yorkshire businessman Sir Bob Murray.

Sir Bob, chairman of Leeds-based property developers Sterling Capitol, and chairman of Doncaster-based kitchen manufacturer Omega, is the driving force behind St George’s Park – the Football Association’s new £100m National Football Centre. The 350-acre site on the former ancestral estate of the Bass brewing family near Burton-on-Trent will be the new training base for England’s 24 representative teams, as well as being home to the FA’s coaching development centre, when it opens in August. It won’t just be used for football. It will also offer facilities for a range of sports, including elite rugby union and tennis and cutting-edge sports science laboratories.

Sir Bob is also the former chairman of Sunderland Football Club and his experience in delivering Wearside’s Stadium of Light on time and on budget was key, as was Sterling Capitol’s work on several Yorkshire business parks. It was through his work with Sunderland that he became involved with the project to build the new Wembley.

“At the start of the decade the Government was concerned about the World Cup bid and the delay in getting Wembley started. I was placed on the board at Wembley and in the following year the design was concluded and signed off, the contract placed and the funding obtained,” he says. It was his successful involvement with Wembley, that prompted the FA to ask him for help with St George’s Park.

“Lord Triesman, the ex-chairman of the FA, and Sir Dave Richards, chairman of the Premier League, invited me to the House of Lords for dinner and said they had a job for me. I was invited to help as I have something to offer the game because of my experience and record. I have a deep regard and love for the game of football,” he says.

At the time of his appointment, in November 2008, the project appeared to be going nowhere:

“It was stalled. I removed all but one advisor, and started again from scratch. We all know about the history of the NFC over the decades, but it will be ready for occupation within three and a half years of us starting from scratch.

“The FA are administrators, not builders, and that’s where I’ve come in. I’ve been in the game a long time, so I’m a trusted, known quantity, which has really helped.”

His unpaid role of project director has been wide and far-reaching.

“I’ve had to ensure that the scheme and its workings are perfect, the funding is in place and the whole procurement process to deliver it is on time and in budget,” he explains. “The biggest challenge has been the funding. Sponsor Umbro has helped significantly, but the economic situation has not helped.  It is, however, a good time to be building and we got a fantastic builder (Bowmer and Kirkland) at a competitive price. The whole project will cost only £80m which I and others think is tremendous value for money. We haven’t had one issue or problem with the builders.”

It is a huge project with ambitions to match. It has five main objectives: to be a world-class training facility for players and coaches; an educational hub; a national centre for sports medicine and science; a national centre for English football and a place where sports and businesses can interact. These are lofty aims, but the Football Association (FA) is in discussion with Leeds Met and other universities about having facilities at St George’s Park. Arguably the biggest aim, though, is to develop the future generations of young English players.

Sir Trevor Brooking, the FA’s director of football development, has closely monitored progress, while the FA has worked hard to ensure St George’s Park has world-class facilities. Sir Bob says trips were organised to Spain, France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as Australia and the US to learn how other countries teach their coaches and rising stars – and the facilities they have at their disposal.

“We’ve learned from the best in the world to make this the best it can be. Wembley is the best stage in the world, but we haven’t got the best actors. St George’s Park will help give us the best actors. With the right facilities and coaches we can make good players world-class players.”

It’s a view shared by former England star Sir Trevor.

“I believe the opening of St George’s Park will represent a significant step change in the ability of English football to produce better and more technically-able young English footballers through the enhanced training of the current and a new generation of coaches, and in turn we hope this will produce the successful England international teams we all want to see.”

For Sir Bob, playing a key role in turning the football centre from a dream into reality, has been an honour. “I’ve really enjoyed it and I’ll be so proud when it opens its doors in August.”

It won’t produce results overnight, but the hope is it will in the future. “The aim in the long term is to win the World Cup – regularly,” he says. Now that’s one goal that every English fan would surely celebrate.  

Sir Bob Murray: Business brain with a passion for football

Bob Murray was born in August 1946 in Consett. His parents were both from Sunderland, but the family moved to Consett when his father found work in the steelworks.

He left school with only one O-Level but then studied at evening classes to get further qualifications.

Sir Bob moved to Yorkshire from the North East in 1969. He studied accountancy part time at Leeds Polytechnic (now Leeds Met).

In 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in business administration from the university in recognition of his outstanding contribution to business and sport.

His business interests have been based in Yorkshire for the last 43 years.

He became chairman of Sunderland Football Club in 1986 replacing Sir Tom Cowie. He stepped in when the club was at its lowest point but changed Sunderland’s fortunes and spearheaded the club’s move to the purpose-built Stadium of Light, in 1997.

In 2006, Sir Bob sold the club to a consortium of Irish investors. He was appointed Life President by the new owners.

He was awarded a CBE in 2002 and knighted in the Queen’s birthday honours in 2010.

It is hoped St George’s Park, which will be home to 24 England teams, will be self-financing within five years.