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LONDON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - England looks set to have a National Football Centre after the Football Association's Board unanimously approved the concept on Thursday.
"The Board agreed that its preferred option is to explore how best it could be built and financed at the site at Burton-on-Trent, linked to a hotel and conference facility," a statement on the FA's Web site (www.thefa.com) said.
The health of English football has come under scrutiny since the failure of the national team to qualify for Euro 2008 and the revival of the plan to build a centre similar to France's renowned Clairefontaine complex has been top of the agenda.
Burton, which is in the Midlands, would become the base for the England squad during international weeks and would also house medical, exercise, coaching and education facilities.
FA chief executive Brian Barwick said: "This is a major step forward for the project.
"There was general agreement within the Board that a National Football Centre would be a major asset in the development of players, coaches and referees in this country."
Former England midfielder Trevor Brooking, now the FA's director of football, has been a keen supporter of a national centre and was delighted with the decision.
"Everyone involved in The FA's coaching and player development structures believes that a National Football Centre is vital to the long-term health of English football," he said.
