Royal Opening For St George’s Park

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge officially opened St George’s Park, the new National Football Centre this week, in opening ceremony involving a host of star names from across football. The centre has the long-term goal, at its core, of helping England win a major trophy for the first time since 1966.

The ceremony included England manager Roy Hodgson and captain Steven Gerrard, although the camera lenses will likely be trained on a different member of the England squad, with media already speculating about the possible encounter between Prince William and Ashley Cole, who launched an offensive tweet at the FA following the publishing of its conclusions on the John Terry case.

The facility, which is in Burton-on-Trent, has cost more than £100 million to build since the location was announced in 2001. It will train hundreds of new coaches every year.

The opening ceremony will be tweeted live from @stgeorgespark