How F1 and the FA are working together at St George’s Park

Wilkinson was a key figure in the research and development of St George’s Park as the hub of English football’s present and future from its opening in October 2012.

His answer is simple: “You can’t really say you’re serious about education if you haven’t got a school for the kids – so this says we are serious.”

And is the aim to bring the next English, or indeed British, Premier League title-winner, as well as the next generation of coaches, out of the lecture rooms of St George’s Park?

“In 10 years’ time you would hope you would see a huge change in football as far as coaches who have come through here are concerned,” said Wilkinson. “Not necessarily English but also British and foreign. If you don’t see a change then it’s failed.”

The FA course has been a magnet for big names hoping to forge a career in management, with Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville in the 2013 group, along with Huddersfield Town manager Chris Powell and Liverpool coach Mike Marsh.

Phil Neville believes St George’s Park can be the envy of the sporting world as a place of learning, adding: “The Mercedes F1 team are a group that travel to the most fantastic parts of the world, stay in the finest hotels, with the best equipment – a billion-dollar industry – and they were blown away by the facilities at this place.”