It is a world away from Baden-Baden in every sense, which is probably why Fabio Capello has his eye on the Bafokeng Sports Campus.

No brasseries or Louis Vuitton shops around the corner here. Just a training base set in the remote, rural uplands of South Africa with a Chicken Licken fast-food bar in the nearby town of Phokeng the busiest place about.

Far from the wine country for which South Africa is famed, this is mine country, which must be Capello’s way of telling his players they are here to work. England’s five-star training facilities are an oasis in the midst of the platinum mines where most of the local population grind out a living. Directly behind the football pitches and the 80-room hotel where David Beckham may stay is a great mountain of earth dug up to find more precious metal. A slagheap amid the rolling countryside. As night falls, fires from the furnaces light up the sky.

Sun City, the Las Vegas of South Africa, is only a 20-minute drive away, so there is a place for the WAGs to stay and enjoy their pedicures. But protected by a high wall and barbed wire, England’s likely base is notable mostly for being in the back of beyond fully two hours from Johannesburg.

The accommodation that could house England’s multimillionaire players is evident through the heavily guarded fence, but the sound of drilling and the flow of workmen confirms that there remains much to be done.

A world-class training centre has been promised, with state-of-the-art medical facilities as well as five-star accommodation.

The altitude of about 4,000 feet is one of the main attractions for Capello as he seeks to get England in peak condition and one thing he can be sure of is no distractions.

No decision will be confirmed until next month’s draw, but the England manager has visited the base and an FA delegation came only last week with what, according to one worker, was another long list of requirements.

Capello already has a reputation here for his exacting demands, down to the length of grass on the practice pitches. Another issue raised by the FA was the strength of the wind, although, as the local said, “there’s not much we can do about that”.

Most of the residents are as much bemused as excited by what could hit them next summer if Beckham comes to town. The extravagance of Sun City is a world away for them, although the new training complex is part of a drive to put the Royal Bafokeng kingdom on the map.

The discovery that the ancient tribe were sitting on two thirds of the world’s platinum allowed King Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi II to build the 40,000-capacity Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace that will host six matches in the World Cup.

Along with the new training complex, the intention is to build a sporting attraction that will last when the platinum runs out.

The metal has yielded great riches for the royal family, but most of his subjects have to be happy with the employment from the mines. A manual worker can expect to earn about 3,000 rands (about £240) per month.

In these parts, that is a good wage, according to Solomon Molefe, a security worker who has applied for a job underground even though nine people died in after a rock-fall at a local mine in July in what was not an uncommon accident.

Molofe says that he will not be going to the World Cup matches unless as a steward because it is too expensive for him and most locals.

A ticket to watch the Platinum Stars in the Premier League at the Bafokeng Palace is R20 — for the World Cup the cheapest ticket will be seven times that. “That’s way too much,” he said, exhaling. “Most people round here will never afford that. My only chance is to be security, though even then I’ll have to face the crowd not the action.”

This is how it will be for most South Africans next summer, which perhaps explains why, down at the sleepy Phokeng shopping plaza, they are yet to be gripped with excitement that Beckham might take up residence five minutes down the road.

Save for the fruit stalls by the side of the road, the local hardware shops and Chicken Licken, there is nowhere in Phokeng for him to spend his money.

Still, if England do come here, it should at least open the eyes of the players to the extremes of wealth in South Africa, where the vast majority of the population cannot afford to go to the World Cup. Winning the tournament is obviously the goal, but an education on the way would be no bad thing for our cossetted stars.

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