Watch out soccer nations of the world, England have a plan.
Okay, I’m sure the Spanish, Italian, Brazilian, German and every other top Football Association do this to, but when you make grand statements like this it does raise eyebrows.
On Wednesday morning newly appointed Chairman of the English Football Association, Greg Dyke, set out his plans for the English national team and the English game.
He’s thinking big.
“Today I want to set the whole of English football two targets,” Dyke said. “The first is for the England team to at least reach the semi finals of the Euro Championships in 2020 and the second is for us to win the World Cup in 2022.”
Even the most optimistic Three Lions supporters would say that the goal of wining the FIFA World Cup in Qatar is somewhat unattainable. But English soccer needs a major revamp and Dyke is the new figurehead to set the wheels in motion.
Dyke also addressed the worrying trend in the home nation of soccer, as only 32 percent of players in the Premier League during the 2012-13 season were eligible to play for the English national team. That figure is an all-time low.
“The issue, quite simply, is this: In the future it’s quite possible we won’t have enough players qualified to play for England who are playing regularly at the highest level in this country or elsewhere in the world,” Dyke said. “As a result, it could well mean England’s teams are unable to compete seriously on the world stage.”
A little background info on Dyke for you; he was previously the Chairman of Brentford Football Club and is also the current Chairman of the British Film Institute amongst many other titles. After replacing David Bernstein as the FA’s Chairman in July 2013, Dyke’s opinion will now become big news across the global game. In his extensive speech to plan out a path for success, Dyke also highlighted the huge sums of money leaving English soccer as players are signed from across Europe. Figures released in his report show that in the last three years $1.7 billion has been spent by English clubs on players who played in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Holland and Portugal.
You can read Dyke’s full transcript here to see how the English FA plan to get back to the top of the international tree, even though young English players are finding it harder and harder to play regularly in the Barclays Premier League.
That is another key area that Dyke dissected and he claims that in the next few years the FA and the Premier League will become closely connected so they can work together to benefit the English national team.
Dyke’s appointment as FA Chairman is thought to be for that very reason as he was instrumental in helping to found the Premier League in 1992, his relationship with England’s top-flight is crucial for the success of the English national team going forward.
The FA have thrown down the gauntlet, can the English national team achieve their target?
