The FA to showcase 150th anniversary at Soccerex European Forum

The English Football Association, in short called 'The FA' is currently celebrating its 150th anniversary and this week at the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester it will showcase itself and its work.

The FA was formed in 1863 and it is the oldest football association in the world, responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amateur and professional game in England.

FA Chairman David Bernstein and England Manager Roy Hodgson will lead The FA delegation, which will see the opening address at the two-day conference being given by Club England Managing Director Adrian Bevington, while as part of its year-long celebration of a century and a half of organised football, The FA will be playing a major role by hosting a special FA150 Lounge across both days.

Adrian Bevington said, "Soccerex is a major event in the global football calendar and we are delighted The FA has been asked to play a prominent role in the 2013 European Forum in this our 150th year."

"In particular, it will be a valuable opportunity for The FA to talk about our wider grassroots work as part of the FA150 programme. As well as providing prominent contributions to a number of the sessions, we will also be able to put our world-class facilities at Wembley and St. George’s Park in the spotlight once again."

"Soccerex attracts delegates from across the world and we know from our experience in Rio last year just how positive the event can be for promoting The FA and English football in general."

International Football Arena Roundtable focuses on the Indian football market

The third edition of the International Football Arena round table in New Delhi was held at the Oberoi Gurgaon over the last couple of days with key players from global, regional and national football taking part to discuss Indian football.

One of the key points discussed was that if India gets to host the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup it is going to boost the prospect of grassroots and infrastructure development of Indian football. Stakeholders of Indian football who gathered at the IFA Roundtable were unanimous in their opinion that public private partnership along-with key sponsors will help boost holistic development of the game. The roundtable was organised with the aim of finding solutions for development and marketing of Indian football.

Speaking at the IFA Roundtable, Jérôme Valcke – FIFA General Secretary, said, "While the size of India is a challenge for development of football, the key to success lie through the partnership of private sector. If the Executive Committee of FIFA agrees, India stands to host Under-17 World in 2017. It will provide a huge fillip to development of football in India." He further added, "We have engaged in a 10 year understanding with AIFF, wherein, we will be aiding the body with strategy, management issues, league management, club management and development of football. India should focus on creating a league which is viable, vibrant and has viewership. FIFA is happy with timelines that AIFF has shared with us in relation to football development in India."

Addressing the roundtable, AIFF President Praful Patel, who is also the Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, said, "India has never been a one sport nation. Today, India is the home of world cricket and we are certain that in the years to come, football will regain its lost glory. Our vision document LAKSHYA has been well received by the FIFA and we are working towards having our presence felt at the FIFA World Cup, 2022."

Plans of Chelsea FC entering India were discussed during the roundtable. Chelsea CEO Ron Gourlay said, "India is an important market for us. We hope to be visiting the country soon to initiate a long-term partnership. It's too easy for clubs just to fly in, play and then leave. At Chelsea we feel a fundamental responsibility to help develop the sport at grassroots level and leave behind a lasting legacy, so there would be much more to consider than just playing games here."

Speaking on Indian football, Gourlay added, "I have learnt more about Indian football during the IFA Roundtable in the last 24 hours than I had in past few years. A lot of what I heard points to the need for India to work on creating and developing the under-17 team which will then be able to form the national team in the future."

Marcel Schmid, Founder and Chairman of the International Football Arena, has been critical on current ideas, to bring Iconic players to the country. "It would create a short-term media bust and get some public attention, but it would have no impact on long term sustainability. Instead of paying high salaries to foreign players it would be much better to invest into training your own youth."

Taking a cue from Marcel Schmid’s comment, Srinivas Dempo, who is the president of the Goa Football Association and Dempo Sports Club, said, "The
cumulative spend by Indian football clubs of I–League stature is about INR 140 crore. The operating costs are as high as 85% with more than 70% is salaries. Unless we have more say in I–League and clubs are treated as partners of the property, the future looks bleak. It is now the onus of AIFF to engage in a dialogue with clubs to usher in a new era of feasible, profitable and healthy football in India."

The 2012 edition of the International Football Arena round table was attended by representatives from FIFA; Asian Football Confederation; the Football Association (England); German Football Association (DFB); Chelsea FC; All India Football Federation; Reliance Industries Limited; Dempo SC; Shillong Lajong FC; East Bengal Club; Hero Motors amongst others.

VIDEO: Asian Football Awards 2012

It took a while, but now the report on the first-ever Asian Football Awards is now online!

The Asian Football Awards were supported by The FA and Kick It Out, with Sporting Equals as its legacy partner saw leading figures come out to support the glitzy event at the home of football, Wembley Stadium. Guests for this event included David Bernstein (FA Chairman), Paul Elliot, Graham Le Saux, Piara Powar, Mihir Bose, Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham) and award winners Michael Chopra and Manish Bhasin.

England & the Three Lions - A difficult relationship

I find England and their fascination for their national football team, nick-named the Three Lions, very interesting to follow. But I simply don't understand why they always over-estimate they quality and the importance of their side.

England currently has in the English Premier League the best league in the world! Agreed. Still that does not mean they automatically have a strong national side, but it seems to be often assumed. I find it funny that a number of English friends rate their side as a candidate to win Euro2012. And I totally disagree on this, even thinking so before the whole John Terry racism episode and him being removed from the England captaincy which led to the resignation of England's Italian manager Fabio Capello last week.

But why is this so? England did win the 1966 FIFA World Cup on home soil, but never mention it in Germany then here people still say it was a gift by a linesman from Azerbaijan to the English due to the famous Wembley goal (ghost goal) scored by Geoff Hurst or rather not then modern technology has proven the ball to have never crossed the line.

Since then the Three Lions go into tournaments with England proclaiming themselves amongst the favourites though the rest of the football world doesn't see it the same way. And since 1966 that has been proven right again and again.

Now four months before the 2012 European Championships the FA (the English Football Association) has taken the decision to remove John Terry from the captaincy for the second time due to racism charges, which will only be decided by the English courts after Euro2012. Now this is a big decision and coach Capello was not involved, he was only informed afterwards which he heavily criticised, then his captain was removed due to the allegations which have not been proven. And Capello went on to say so on Italian TV.

This in the end led to Capello leaving the job, which some say he has done not to get embarrassed by another usual performance by the Three Lions like at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. And now England is shouting only an English or British coach can take the team forward as only these coaches understand the mentality of the players. What?

I find it surprising that Fabio Capello got a lot of blame and stick after he resigned because he wasn't willing to learn the English language, the countries culture and overall wasn't willing to adopt. Interestingly all this criticism wasn't there as long as Capello was cruising with his team in the qualifiers.

What do you say???

BREAKING NEWS: Capello resigns as England manager

A meeting today between the FA chairman David Bernstein and general secretary Alex Horne with their Italian manager Fabio Capello at Wembley ended with a bang as Capello resigned from the post of England manager just four months ahead of the 2012 European Championships in Poland and the Ukraine.

A statement from the FA read: The Football Association can confirm that Fabio Capello has today resigned as England Manager.

The developments over the day do not come as a complete surprise as Fabio Capello had criticised the FA on Italian television for removing John Terry from the England captaincy though his civil case for allegedly racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand is still ongoing.

The statement went on to say: The discussions focused on The FA Board's decision to remove the England team captaincy from John Terry, and Fabio Capello's response through an Italian broadcast interview.

In a meeting for over an hour, Fabio's resignation was accepted and he will leave the post of England Manager with immediate effect.

Just months before a big tournament like the Euros such a move is surely not going to help English football with the FA having to ask itself the question why it takes decisions regarding a football team, which should be a matter for the manager and his coaching staff to decide.

The FA chairman David Bernstein said, "I would like to stress that during today's meeting and throughout his time as England Manager, Fabio has conducted himself in an extremely professional manner. We have accepted Fabio's resignation, agreeing this is the right decision. We would like to thank Fabio for his work with the England team and wish him every success in the future."

A media conference with David Bernstein and the Club England Management team will take place at Wembley on Thursday at 12.00 GMT.