The first British journalist into England's training camp... ME (and me dad and me brother!)

YESTERDAY I became the first British journalist allowed to view the England training camp before the 2010 World Cup.

And believe me, it wasn’t easy. Hidden behind the faded motel entrance (pictured, right) the Bafokeng Royal Sports Palace Complex isn’t even finished yet. Exactly 6km (about two-and-a-half-miles) beyond the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, which rises out of nowhere in Phokeng, just outside Rustenburg, Fabio Capello’s pre-tournament home is emerging out of the platinum-rich red earth.

England will play the USA at the recently-revamped 50,000-capacity Palace on June 12. But their high-altitude base is the key to success. Hidden behind a peeling sign proclaiming “Sun Gardens Motel” an unbelievable centre for sports excellence is being built in secret, funded by the local Bafokeng tribe, who claim a percentage of the platinum profits.

But British journalists and hopeful onlookers are kept at arm’s length between Phokeng and Boshoek, two tiny African villages outside Rustenburg. We drove for miles searching for the mystical England training complex, expecting huge signage, before a local explained: “It’s behind that tree.”

In disbelief, we crossed the N14 to Sun City, about 100km from the international airport in Johannesburg, which we had travelled for some time. And the gateman at the apparently drab “Sun Gardens Motel” told us: “The Royal Bafokeng Sports Complex is here sir. But you are not allowed in.”

But we are old hands at this. My locally-based father Bob, my brother Glynn and I have already discovered the German base at Velmore Estate, the Italian camp at Leriba Lodge and the USA base at Irene, all near the Test cricket ground in Centurion.

After much persuasion, the gateman called up the big guy. Mark Ferguson, group security in charge of keeping prying eyes away from England’s base. Built to satisfy the king of the Bafokeng, Kagosi Leruo Molotgeti, England have the prime spot for their World Cup preparations. But nobody is allowed to see it.

While Spain, Italy, Argentina and the like face bus journeys between their hotels, training grounds and World Cup venues, England have it all on their doorstep as they prepare to dominate Group C in June next year.

Ferguson confirmed: “The tribe are funding all of this, it’s going to be a sporting centre of excellence for years to come. We are the highest point in South Africa, 100m higher than Johannesburg and Pretoria at 1500m.

“It sets teams up for playing at altitude. We will have the New Zealand and Australia rugby teams preparing here for the Tri-Nations. All kinds of sports teams will come here. But at the moment, we’re trying to keep things under wraps, no journalists allowed. No visitors”

There followed a brief chat. It turns out Ferguson, from Durban, used to play football in Kwa Zulu Natal. I know his old mates. He lets us through the gate, beyond the Sun Gardens Motel, which appears to be a lowly front for what is to come.

We follow him on his quad bike, into the complex. Five plastic pitches are being prepared. Ten grass pitches, unfairly criticised by Capello for having bare patches, are taking shape. They’ll be perfect by May, the rains are good. At least 12 floodlight pylons are already up, with the actual lights still to come.

This is an African sporting paradise. Two of the four sections of the luxury hotel were released by the builders in November. Two more are still to come. The Presidential suites are fabulous, the mirrors are huge, the players will want for nothing. And there is a high-spec gym under construction, with oxygen chambers and all a modern footballer could wish for.

“Look, this is a project still under development. We can’t even confirm England are staying here,” says Ferguson with a wry grin, “We will be ready by May though. You’d be amazed what we can do here, and we are only using local labour. The overseas experts will be brought in later.”

Across the road lies the Kedar country hotel, already fully booked for the World Cup. You’d pay £1,000 a night to book the Presidential Suite here, in a hotel with game lodge attached. Beautiful.

In six months, England will be perfectly placed for their World Cup crusade, David Beckham’s final attempt to end 43 years of hurt. Wife Victoria and the WAGS will be based in a lodge like Kedar or Sun City, South Africa’s Las Vegas, 30 miles up the road.

If we don’t win the World Cup from here, in the middle of nowhere, we never will. With the African nations all suffering in the draw in Cape Town on December 4 and England facing the USA down the road before games against Slovenia in Cape Town and Algeria in Port Elizabeth. They’ll pop down to the coast for those two games to maintain their altitude acclimatisation. When you play at sea-level after training inland, you can run forever.

And then they come back to Phokeng, barely three miles from here, for their first knock-out encounter. It couldn’t be any better. England are looking good for the World Cup 2010. As long as you know where to look.

Where the World Cup powers have their base: cricket takes a second place

I know, I know. I'm supposed to be here to write about cricket. Four fascinating Tests between South Africa, the world's second best side since India went to No1 this week, and England, currently fifth in the world.

But the problem is, the World Cup here in South Africa next year keeps impinging on my focus. And the reason? Within about a 10-mile radius of the venue for England's first cricket Test tomorrow, you will find all sorts of great footballing nations taking residence before Africa's first World Cup starts in six months.

On Sunday, driving to find a nearby cheese shop, my father and I chanced upton the Velmore Estate, which will house the Germans next June. Unbelievable place. I've already written about it already.

Then, after interviewing the England cricketer Stuart Broad yesterday, I came across the Leriba Lodge in the middle of Centurion as we drove home from the University of Pretoria's High Performance Centre, which will house Argentina.

A quick check and yes, the Leriba Lodge, stuck right in the middle of suburban Centurion, will house the Italians. They will train at nearby Swartkop High School, who already host the New Zealand rugby team whenever they visit. The school have a purpose-built pitch, with stands, to accommodate major international teams.

Thing is, the World Cup venues in Pretoria and Johannesburg - Loftus Versfeld and Ellis Park - are only 35 miles apart. And Centurion lies just to the Pretoria side of the equation. This is the perfect place for World Cup teams to be based, at altitude, where games at sea-level become matter-of-fact.

And then, today after the press conference with Andrew Strauss, my dad and I stopped off at Irene Lodge, home to the USA during the World Cup. And then we drove on to Southdowns College, a huge school nearby, where they will train.

Needless to say, it's magnificent. Like England's base at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Rustenburg. All posh rooms, huge mirrors, state-of-the-art decor and fabulous facilities. But Fabio Capello's men are 60 miles away from Centurion, a safe, tourist-friendly town just outside Pretoria.

Clearly, England will keep their fans and WAGs at arm's length in Bafokeng, and put the hanger's-on, the wives and girlfriends, in the mini-Las Vegas that is Sun City, 13 miles away.

But here in Centurion, Germany, the USA and Italy will provide a far friendlier venue for their media, fans and partners.

Germany's base at the Velmore Estate has already been talked about on this site. Magnificent, an oasis in the middle of nowhere. Italy's base at Leriba Lodge is far more suburban, based about two miles away from the cricket ground. Though all the nearby houses are fenced in and protected by armed guards, Leriba will give the Italians a perfect home for their six weeks in South Africa.

Though major reconstruction is currently underway, their base offers three restaurants, a spa and complete security. Nobody can move in the complex without being monitored.

And the USA base at Irene Lodge is, in my view, even better. Positioned in the old suburb of Irene where they exiled the local English populace during the Boer War, it is a real delight.

A huge lake dominates the lay-out and like we did today, you can eat on a wooden terrace out over the water. Paradise. A home to many important society weddings among the local populace.

Service in all these venues is exquisite. South Africa's catering crew, your barmen and waitresses, appreciate having employment like few in Britain can ever understand. The smiles are bright and real, a miniscule tip is accepted with open arms.

But the hidden timebomb? The cost for ordinary fans. While the teams are all safely booked in around this area, halfway between Pretoria and Johannesburg, where the World Cup final will be played on July 11 in Soccer City, the hotels and guest houses are planning a major money-making coup.

I could get a hotel in Centurion tonight for R450, which is just over £20 a night. But come the World Cup, as I showed several of the locals on my lap top, that price leaps into the stratosphere.

The only big hotel in Centurion with vacancies on June 11, the first night of the World Cup, demands R7,500 for a single night's accommodation. That's around £500 a night. Ridiculous. And the local bed and breakfasts, ungraded by the government, are demanding three times their normal rate, rising from a reasonable £4o a night this week, to £300 a night by mid-June.

How the hell do fans arriving from Europe cope with inflation like that? It's a tough one. Rustenburg, as the minister of tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk revealed to me last week, has a shortage of 14,200 beds during the World Cup.

Polokwane, Nelspruit and Bloemfontein show similar shortcomings. The big tourist centres, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Durban and iconic Cape Town, have no such worries.

So with all the big nations, Germany, Italy, Spain and England, up here in Centurion, not to mention Holland, idolised by the locals, based in Sandton down the road, where exactly do you find a value-for-money habitat for the greatest footballing show on earth next June?

It's easy. Get a tent. And a sleeping bag. Camp. I have found a secure, fenced-in camping site two miles from Centurion, with easy access to the Germans, Italians and USA (the Americans have currently purchased more tickets than anyone for next year's World Cup with England second in the rankings if you discount South Africa). Okay, the World Cup will take place in winter here and temperatures can dip alarmingly in June and July. But it won't rain. I promise. It never does in winter here.

Camp in Centurion and you're right in the middle of the high altitude World Cup venues. And it's not bad for England and Spain (Hunter's Rest, which is rather nice) in Rustenburg, if you don't mind the hour's drive.

While the various national teams have secured themselves comfortable, luxurious pre-tournament camps for the 2010 World Cup, the fans will be scrabbling about until the last minute. Just keep an eye on this blog. There are safe, secure alternatives. I will hunt them down. And cover the Test series against South Africa. Believe me!

And do we really have to focus on Manchester United's comfortable 3-0 win over Wolves - Sir Alex Ferguson's 900th game in charge - or Aston Villa's 2-0 win at Sunderland. Birmingham beat Blackburn 2-1 and Bolton won 3-1 against troubled West Ham, who are resisting a takeover from Birmingham's old owners.

Tomorrow we've got Chelsea v Portsmouth, Burnley v Arsenal, Liverpool v Wigan and Spurs v Manchester City in the battle for fourth place. Great. But isn't it about time we started thinking about the World Cup next year?