England will travel to Germany today ahead of their Euro 2024 campaign as Gareth Southgate looks to lead the Three Lions to international success in his fourth tournament in charge
England stars are set to check in to their luxury Euros resort – and are ready for their biggest treat yet.
Gareth Southgate has always stressed the need for the best possible basecamp and training facilities to give themselves every chance of succeeding in a tournament. They stayed in Repino about 45 minutes outside of St Petersburg during the Russia World Cup and tried to immerse themselves in the feel of being in Qatar by staying in a hotel next to a soukh in Al Wakrah in 2022.
But Golfresort Weimarer Land – about half an hour’s drive from Erfurt – has a totally different feel of luxury and, as the name suggests, boasts two 18 hole courses and another 9 hole course. The luxury 94 room resort also has two full size football pitches and luxury spa facilities where suites cost £300-a-night.
Football Association staff go to endless lengths to get every detail right and insiders say this might just be the best tournament basecamp to date. England boss Southgate checked it out last winter when the training pitches were covered in snow but the surfaces are superb, the gym is state-of-the-art and it has all the latest equipment.
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UEFA actually put forward a list of potential venues for national teams and Weimarer Land was not included but England got in first ahead of other interested countries, including Germany. Germany used it as a training base for their recent squad get together ahead of the Euros but they will be based at the adidas Football Centre.
Spare time and keeping the players focused rather than bored will be key and they have two swimming pools, a fitness centre, spa and seven restaurants. The venue will be completely transformed from what it is normally when open to £300-a-night guests.
Back in Qatar, each player was given a special presentation box with their own shirt, shirt number and detail of great players who had worn it in the past. Southgate also penned a personal note to each player and is expected to do similar personal touches again this time.
Family pictures are also put in players’ rooms to make them feel at home then they check in. They want to use the same luxury bed linen and even fragrances which are used at their St George’s Park base.
It will be a far cry from the days of Baden Baden in 2006 when England players’ WAGs stole the show and overtook the German town. Weimarer Land is remote and, while families will be allowed to visit the players at various points during the Euros, they are unlikely to be staying nearby and it will not be such a showbiz event if Southgate has his way.
Southgate said: “’It changes the dynamic of the hotel, especially if the kids come in, and those elements are important for the players.
“We want to be somewhere where we can be a bit on our own. We need that contrast of relaxation and areas where we can work.
“You want to minimise travel where you can but, within the FA, our staff are really good at picking venues that the players will enjoy and feel comfortable in. You want to be somewhere where everything that’s going on around you, you can zone out from, but somewhere with facilities that are good for working.”
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