But in order to clinch the prestigious deal, chairman Alan Smith OBE DL has to jet  to the Orient to present the firm’s ideas – on Christmas Day.

He will give two 30-minute talks to government and business leaders, one on Christmas Day and another on Boxing Day.

“Because of the flights at this time of year, I will be away for six days,” said Alan. “It means I will be away from my family at Christmas for the  first time ever. They are not very happy with me at the moment! But I will still speak to them on the phone on the day, and a business  partner in China has invited me for Christmas dinner at his house. It will  certainly be an unusual Christmas.”

Redbox’s design for the 100-acre site – which mixes the functions of a leisure  centre, learning centre and community centre – sees two “soft” buildings  wrapping around the lake and mountains,  and also includes an outside area big enough to allow 1,000 people to practice  tai chi.

The project will allow Redbox, which has recently opened an office in Changsha,  capital of the Hunan province in south-central China, to export the talent and  skills of the North East.

The first Academy players are already benefiting from the indoor 3G pitch, as well as the
new external 3G floodlit pitch.

The design of the indoor training facility sits sympathetically alongside the ‘vernacular’
architecture of the Academy and is respectful of the Green Belt location.

Completing the facilities at the nationally recognised training facility, Peter Weymes,
facilities manager at the club, stated ‘it is fantastic, it has already being used by the Academy kids and it has been described as the best facility at club level in the country’.

This is the second indoor training facility that has been completed by the practice in the
most challenging of planning environments, Sunderland’s in the Great North Forest, and St George’s Park the new national training centre for all England teams in the heart of the National Forest.

The Football Business Awards celebrate excellence, and acknowledge success in the business of football.

The Awards recognise the essential role that business plays in football, the positive impact of football on the community, and the vital role played by the businesses which serve the game.

In the category ‘Best Professional Service Business Serving Football’, redboxdesigngroup has been recognised for its role as Master Planners, Architects and Interior Designers for the recently completed St. George’s Park, the new national training facility for all 24 of the England football teams.

The winners of each category will be announced at the Football Business Awards Ceremony gala dinner that will be held on Thursday 8th November at Chelsea FC.

Kelley Smith MBE, England International:

Just spent the day at St. George’s Park, The FA’s new National Football Centre. What a facility it is. Two hotels, twelve pitches, spa facility.

Henry Winter, the Telegraphs football correspondant:

The FA’s £120million St George’s Park provides the perfect setting for English football to open a new chapter.

When Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole and the rest of England’s footballers emerge from the dressing room of their new training home, St George’s Park, they will be greeted with the message given to all the Team GB Olympians by Sir Clive Woodward.

In the hi-tech gym, the words of Muhammad Ali dominate one wall: “I hated every minute of training but I used to say ‘don’t quit’. Suffer now and live   the rest of your life as a champion.’’

A two-hour tour behind the scenes at St George’s Park yesterday, taking in everywhere from Roy Hodgson’s bedroom to a treadmill designed by Nasa, revealed the remarkable scale of the FA’s £120 million commitment to the   future of the national team. A complex of two halves elegantly designed by redboxdesigngroup, the first section encountered in this rolling Staffordshire countryside comprises two hotels.

At first glance, these Hiltons resemble any sleek modern hotel. Look closer and there is Sammy Lee’s old England tracksuit hanging behind a glass front in reception. Examine the walls and there are scribbled memories of famous England goals, of John Barnes against Brazil, Alan Shearer against Holland and Michael Owen against Argentina.

Sneak a peak in the bedrooms, and there are pictures of Frank Lampard scoring a penalty against Switzerland and Gary Lineker darting ahead of Alex McLeish.

There is the Kevin Keegan Suite, the Glenn Hoddle Suite and the vast Sir Bobby Charlton suite, home from home for Hodgson and boasting a large balcony that   until recently had its own birds nest. Many books can be found in the   players’ meeting room, including the life stories of Usain Bolt, George   Best, Paul Gascoigne, Bobby Moore and Gary Lineker. Equally useful is a tome on how to handle anxiety in sport. Downstairs is a 90-seat auditorium which, players take note, has already been soundproofed for karaoke.

Legends of the game had rooms named after them. Yesterday, the Brian Clough Room was hosting a coaching course on “strikers”. The Sir Trevor Brooking Room has a superb photograph of the midfielder in his pomp. Outside, a coach in an Everton tracksuit strode past.

St George’s Park has not officially opened yet but it is up and running. Celtic and Fulham played an under-21 game last weekend. Notts County have taken a one-year contract to train here. Burton Albion use it. The attraction is obvious. Head into the   second part of the National Football Centre, and the extent of the FA’s ambition becomes even clearer. The facilities are so good that it is easy to understand rumours that Stuart Lancaster will relocate England from   Pennyhill Park to St George’s Park.

Areas promoting the pursuit of excellence are everywhere. There’s a hydrotherapy pool that films players running on treadmills underwater, a three-lane sprint track, an indoor pitch the size of Wembley, a machine with lights to be touched when they flash. Joe Hart and Jack Butland will work on   this.

“Lewis Hamilton uses one for his peripheral vision,’’ said David Sheepshanks,  the chairman of the NFC, as he marched through this structure he has done so much to turn from idea to reality.

“Everyone has been talking about the Olympics and sportsmanship but the   important message of the Olympics for me was the rewards from sports science. Look at the cyclists and rowers. It’s phenomenal. In many years to come St George’s Park will help England win. It’s a place to build on strengths and challenge underachievement. It’s an educational hub.

“Sir Trevor Brooking has talked often about developing a new generation of young players who are not only technically adept but are also decision-makers. We achieve that by investing in the teachers. It will take time for them to grow up and deliver on a world stage.”

One of the many flaws inhibiting English players in recent years has been the failure to take responsibility in pressure situations. “We used to hear Bobby Robson and Alex Ferguson always pointing to the fact that they had half a dozen leaders in their team,’’ continued Sheepshanks.

“But so many times recently we’ve heard managers bemoaning too few leaders. People say ‘that’s society nowadays’ but we have to react to it. We’re   investing in leadership development.’’ There’s even an outdoor leadership training centre where stars can walk on a high-wire. Whisper that quietly around club managers.

“The academy initiative was a very good one but one of the side-effects was we pampered young players,’’ added Sheepshanks.

“They have been paid too much money and did not have to do the hard work that apprentices used to. Then we wonder when they are in their mid-twenties why they are not motivated to go on investing in themselves. Training becomes a drudgery as opposed to an opportunity. We need to create more leaders and fewer followers.’’

Sheepshanks kept weaving through the corridors, past a large room which the League Managers’ Association was moving into on Monday. Richard Bevan stood next to a stack of boxes. Howard Wilkinson talked in a corridor. Unfortunately, the technical director’s office was empty.

Gareth Southgate should have been in residence, particularly after the FA  spent 18 months training him for such an important role, but he backed out. Dan Ashworth, West Brom’s highly regarded director of football, is now favourite to accept the challenge of ensuring the next generation are remembered well.

“How do you want to be remembered?” read the note that the British Olympic Association’s director of elite performance left in their rooms at the Olympic Village.

We have always had a firm conviction that in the depths of recession you must try harder to keep the marketing ball bouncing. If you let it stop it is so much harder or even impossible to get it going again if and when things ‘turn round’. It is therefore essential that you have the best possible support in such times to maintain that omentum.

For years we have tried relentlessly to find such support but regrettably , thus far we have failed miserably. Having tried agencies in the region ad nauseam we even turned to stellar London agencies like FREUD.

But, at long last there is a new kid on the block and we have never felt more comfortable than with CALLAGHAN MARKETING our new PR and marketing agency.

Lesley Callaghan MD,  has an enviable track record having spent twenty years with Sunderland football club steering the pr accounts of regional, national and international sponsors to ensure both parties were assured of one hundred percent satisfaction in their relationships. We have met no one who better understands direct and affinity branding and we are delighted to have her on board. Indeed it is a privilege to be one of her first clients.

The design of the indoor training facility sits sympathetically alongside the ‘vernacular’ architecture of the Academy and is respectful of the Green Belt location.

The indoor facility is vital to the Club for it to retain its Academy status and also in ‘closing the deal’ with potential players who expect this kind of provision from English Premiership Clubs.