It’s finally finished; bust out the champagne and let out a cheer, the England training camp just outside of Rustenburg is finally ready to welcome the mighty England team. The pitches are ready, the screening room is ready, the luxurious bedrooms are ready, the four presidential suites are ready… what? No one from the England camp will be staying in the Presidential suites, you say? Not even Capello?
Not mighty Fabio, he’s no spiv– he’s one of the lads and will have a room identical to theirs. What a gent.
After the jump, an exclusive look at the facilities that England will be enjoying as they spend a month in South Africa, marching to the final (I can dream, can’t I?) Come on a tour with me.
Reception area? Gareth Barry can lounge around in comfort while reading his comic books
Are those replicas of the Bobby Moore statue at Wembley?
High altitude. England are in the mountains.
Training pitch at the Royal Bafokeng complex
Wayne Rooney can keep those muscles pumped in a state of the art gym
King-size beds. Just the right size to accommodate Peter Crouch's wing span
Workers take a break to try out the new turf
After a hard day's work stuffing Algeria, Gerrard can relax by the pool while listening to Phil Collins
beach soccer is one on many activities on-site (including "ablution facilities")
Quiet surroundings… sorry Ashley, no night club!
Two sinks: one for John Terry and one for someone else's wife.
Last pic is the best!!!
I misread ablution as abortion. Which I guess would also have been for John Terry and someone else’s wife.
Also, what is Safrica going to do with all these swank accommodations when the World Cup rolls back outta town?
When the Belgian MNT came to Central Florida to train in advance of WC94, they used my local rec fields. They helped pay to relay the turf and install a better irrigation/run-off system – and gave the community some money to continue the upkeep for a few yeas after. But they used the same basic facilities (i.e., bathrooms, showers, water fountains etc.) I used as a club player. And that’s why I’m special.
@ebf: Germany used my wife’s high school for training in 94 (as did Hootie and the Blowfish for their unforgettable hit video, “only wanna be with you”). They scrimmaged the varsity men’s team every day and used my brother-in-law for target practice (he was the goalie). His big claim has been he “denied” Klinsmann once.
At his wedding, I learned this great feat was accomplished by standing still with his arms down while Klinsmann lined one straight off his chest. Apparently the Germans found this funny until they thought he was dead…once the medical staff determined he’d live, it was funny again. But hey, “made the save.”
That bed could fit crouch’s wing span – if he slept sideways. I don’t know what muscles Rooney is working out in a gym, but that bed could fit two of his granny prostitutes and their grand-daughters. Good times for him.
I would like credit for the jokey title of this post, since I busted it out a few weeks ago on one of our World Cup musings
@NY Kid. Sorry chief, I honestly missed that, and thought i was being clever when i thought of it. Great minds we have!
i t will be given to the local government and used as a hotel to create revenue in the future..right..right? please say yes for my conscience sake.
though now that i think of it the upkeep cost could be a burden (just like the stadiums) i think in a link in one of the world cup disaster posts, a local man put it well. “White Elephant”