“Which delegation are you from?” “Where’s from the FA.” “Which FA?”
This was a common refrain at FIFA and global soccer meetings between executives with the FA and those from foreign associations. It’s gotten to a point that according to a report in The Guardian, the FA are looking to rebrand as the English FA in order to sever any negative connection with the name and what it stands for.
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“I think we are perceived as arrogant,” outgoing FA CEO Martin Glenn said in 2015. “I don’t think we necessarily are but perceptions … it does matter. We go to international conventions and say: ‘Hi, I’m Martin Glenn and I am from the FA.’ Which one? Obviously the English, because we invented it. Every other is the German association, the French association, we are so assumptive. Changing the name would possibly be a solution.”
Organizations across the globe commonly rebrand to avoid connections with a previous poor reputation, or to distance themselves from poor decisions made by previous leaders of the group. In this case, it only makes sense for the FA to identify itself as being from England to seamlessly fit in with the rest of world soccer’s federations.
According to the report, it would not change the name of the FA Cup or FA Council, but would instead be more focused on improving England’s image abroad. In addition, the rebrand, which is being considered by the FA board of directors, comes ahead of a possible bid for the 2030 World Cup. England would need a majority of the world’s FAs to confirm it, ahead of rival bids from South America (Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile), Eastern Europe (Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia) and Morocco.
