East Staffordshire Borough Council (ESBC) is to support the Football Association's (FA) bid for funding towards England's new National Football Centre near Burton-upon-Trent.

The national governing body is looking to secure funding from the government's Regional Growth Fund (RGF) towards the St George's Park project. Worth £1.4bn, the RGF will operate between April 2011 and April 2014 in order to boost private sector-led economic growth and received more than 450 bids in its first round.

ESBC leader Richard Grosvenor said: "ESBC has been a leading advocate of the National Football Centre project since its inception. "The project has the potential to put East Staffordshire and the wider LEP area firmly on the business map."

A government decision on which bids will receive funding from the first round of the RGF is due in mid-March. Image: The FA via Getty Images