English soccer's 105 million-pound plan to win the World Cup was granted royal approval as the Football Association's St George's Park National Football Centre was officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Prince William, the FA President, was not born when plans for a national centre were first discussed 37 years ago and now the race is on for the England team to win a major trophy for the first time since 1966.
The FA, which also invited over 1,000 football dignitaries and media to witness their landmark occasion, hopes the state-of-the-art facilities will result in silverware within 15 years as well as leading to 250,000 new top-level coaches finding their way into the game.
England captain Steven Gerrard says the team now has the best stadium in the world and the best training facilities, leaving no excuses for future English teams who fail to win a trophy at a major tournament.
