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World Cup 2018: England demand 20ft wall around Russia training base to keep out spies

ENGLAND have requested a giant fence be erected around their World Cup training base to keep out spies from rival sides.

Gareth Southgate has chosen a remote training base north of St Petersburg as the headquarters of the Three Lions side in Russia this summer.

England will be training at the stadium in Zelenogorsk - but are keen to avoid spies working out their tactics
England will be training at the stadium in Zelenogorsk – but are keen to avoid spies working out their tactics

But despite the fact the settlement of Repino is one of the quieter venues being used by teams competing, the Football Association are still keen to ensure privacy.

So they have asked those in charge of the stadium in nearby Zelenogorsk if they can built a 20ft screen around the site to ensure no-one can see inside.

England bosses are keen to prevent spies from rival sides from trying to work out their tactics and team selections for games this summer.

It is not uncommon for sides taking part in major international tournaments to hide themselves away in training.

The FA have asked for a 20ft wall to be built around their training camp as they bid to keep out World Cup spies
The FA have asked for a 20ft wall to be built around their training camp as they bid to keep out World Cup spies
The training facilities are good, but there is little else in the area to keep the England players entertained
The training facilities are good, but there is little else in the area to keep the England players entertained

But until now, the companies preparing the site England would use had only planned to stick with the current two-metre perimeter fence in place.

The Moscow Times have quoted an official working on the project revealing details of the request from the FA.

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Municipal construction officer Sergei Klimov said: “England needs the six-meter fence to protect the site from prying eyes.

“This isn’t included in FIFA’s list of mandatory requirements, but we are considering the possibility of fulfilling their request.”

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England boss Southgate has defended the decision to choose the base, even though the nearest airport is two hours away for when the side need to travel to matches.

He claimed the quality of the training facilities coupled with the decent climate conditions made it an obvious choice.

If England were looking for isolation at the World Cup then they have chosen the right place
If England were looking for isolation at the World Cup then they have chosen the right place

But when SunSport visited the site last year it revealed that the camp is so isolated there is a risk of the players being cooped up with nothing to do.

One of the problems that has blighted England squads in recent tournaments is the fact the squad have become bored and stale locked away from real life.

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