England to base 2018 World Cup preparations in Repino with training complex in Saint Petersburg
Friday 9 February 2018 13:05, UK
England will be based in Repino for the 2018 World Cup, while Gareth Southgate's squad will prepare in the village of Zelenogorsk, Saint Petersburg.
FIFA have confirmed the team headquarters for all 32 participating countries and the forRestMix Club Sport&Relax hotel will act as England's headquarters during the tournament, while the players will train at Stadium Spartak Zelenogorsk - six miles along the coast from Repino.
Sky Sports News were granted access inside England's team base hotel last year, ahead of December's draw, in Repino - a 45-minute drive from St Petersburg.
The FA have opted for a remote site, far from the luxurious surroundings of previous major tournament bases, and the England players are expected to mostly stay within the out-of-town Baltic Sea hotel, which sits on the edge of the Gulf of Finland.
"You never get everything 100 per cent that in an ideal scenario you'd have," Southgate told Sky Sports News in December.
"But for us it was important to be somewhere the players can close the door and relax."
Once the group stage reaches completion the teams who advance to the knockout stages can decide whether they stay at their team base or opt for a new host city location.
England are in Group G with Belgium, Panama and Tunisia and will open their campaign against the latter in Volgograd on June 18.