World Cup 2010: Fabio Capello yet to approve England's training camp
Fabio Capello will on Wednesday make a final inspection of the facilities that the Football Association want England to use as their training base for next summer's World Cup finals.
By Jason Burt in Cape Town
Published: 7:15AM GMT 02 Dec 2009
Grounds for concern: Fabio Capello, pictured at London Colney , is keen to check the quality of pitches at England's proposed World Cup base in Rustenburg Photo: REUTERS
However, the England manager is believed to be less convinced about the suitability of the Royal Bafokeng Sports Complex in Rustenburg, north of Johannesburg, which has been designed from scratch and includes a new hotel, medical centre and training pitches.
The owners of the complex, built on a game reserve and costing more than £20 million, have claimed that the FA has been consulted on everything from the dimensions of the hotel rooms to the upholstery.
As would be expected, Capello has taken great interest in the quality of the pitches that have been constructed but is also understood to have been concerned that the facility was not finished when he last visited and informed the FA that he could not make a decision on whether to use it until it was.
It is hoped that he will be convinced by officials at the complex which is supposed to be completed and ready for occupying in the new year. However, despite the widespread assumption that the Rustenburg base was Capello's first choice this is not the case.
The Italian is believed to be keener on a site in Pretoria which, like Rustenburg, is also at altitude where six of the 10 stadiums – including where the final will be played – are situated.
Although Capello is loath to disclose the location of the alternative venue he has been hoping that the FA would be able to persuade another nation, who are believed to have secured the first option, to stand aside. So far this has not happened although England general manager Franco Baldini will remain in South Africa after Friday's World Cup 2010 draw to oversee the preparations.
It now appears likely that the alternative venue is the High Performance Centre at the University of Pretoria which has been used by various countries, for a variety of sports, since it was opened seven years ago and has gained a reputation for being an elite location.
The HPS is more four-star than five-star but has a world-class reputation for providing facilities from athletes and helping them to acclimatise to local conditions and deal with specialised training and nutrition programmes.
Gallingly for England it appears that Argentina have first option on the HPC, after visiting the site during the Confederations Cup, with, at one stage, 14 countries making inquiries about using it. England were among that number and have negotiated the right to take over the HPC should Argentina decide to go elsewhere which is now unlikely to happen.
Italy, who used the Southdowns Sports Complex in Centurion, Pretoria, also hope to use the HPC but, again, are likely to miss out. Argentina are expected to sign an agreement this week for the complex which is close to the Loftus Versfeld stadium, one of the venues for the finals, and is 40 minutes drive from Johannesburg.
England will spend a week in Irdning in Austria, south-east of Salzburg, which Capello had previously used as a training camp while he was coach of Real Madrid, preparing for next summer's tournament. They will play at least one match, with a friendly pencilled in against Japan.
England, who should on Wednesday be confirmed as one of the top eight seeds for the World Cup finals, will also play a friendly in March at Wembley and possibly one more warm-up game before the tournament begins. The opposition will be decided after Friday's draw but the likelihood is England will play a South American or African team and then another European nation.
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