England’s 2012 training ground branded a ‘shambles’
13th December 2011
The England squad’s training ground for Euro 2012 has been branded ‘a shambles’ and ‘not fit for purpose’ by The Sun.
England will be based in Poland for the duration of the tournament, which is being staged in both Poland and Ukraine.
The squad will be using Polish fourth division team Hutnik Nowa Huta’s ground for at least the first three group games next summer.
England’s first three games are against France, Sweden and Ukraine – in a group that delighted fans and players alike, as well as manager Fabio Capello.
But Capello has come under fire since the draw, as it means that England will be travelling over 5,000 miles in total to play all of their group games.
Capello has refused to change the team’s base in Krakow, Poland, despite all three of England’s group games being held in Ukraine.
England’s Group D opponents are all based in Ukraine, which could give them a possible advantage.
It is even possible that every single one of England’s games could be played in Ukraine, meaning that if they were to reach the final, the team would have notched up a whopping 10,000 air miles.
And Capello has come under yet more criticism, with The Sun branding the England training ground a dump, saying it is not even suitable for a pub team.
The Polish team’s bosses have promised the ground will be ready for England by next summer, but The Sun claim work has not even started yet.
An FA spokesperson told The Sun: “Uefa compiled an approved list of hotels and training grounds for us to choose from — but there was nothing suitable on it for England's needs. If we'd taken options from the list, we'd have ended up with worse facilities than Hutnik.”
Club England Managing Director Adrian Bevington has dismissed the reports as sensationalist and accused The Sun of scare mongering.
Speaking on Twitter, he said: "Pre-tournament base camp scare story in Sun today. V predictable. Training pitch isn't good but will be in June. We have pitch specialist company who work with Fifa and Uefa working on our training pitch - it will be fine.”
If you are planning on heading to Poland or Ukraine to support England this summer, travel insurance could be a worthwhile investment.
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