Former English FA chairman hopes ‘stupid old men’ don’t stop needed reform

The English FA is in dire need of modernization and reform, a need that’s been obvious for years but has so far been stubbornly refused by those who are able to make it happen. At this point, FA chairman Greg Clarke is so desperate to make those reforms happen he’s staked his job on it, and now one of his predecessors is hoping there’s no interference along the way.

”You shouldn’t underestimate the old men of English football,” former FA chairman Greg Dyke said in an interview with BBC Radio. “They’ve seen off all sorts of people over the years. Government are now saying if you don’t do these things you’ll lose money and we won’t support you in the future. Who knows, they are stupid enough to say ‘we’re going to fight it anyway.’”

The full interview is well worth a read. Dyke is absolutely scathing towards the FA Council, and he holds nothing back in sharing his opinions of the group he once oversaw.

Dyke has long called for a reformation of the FA Council, a parliament-like group of over 120 people, the vast majority of whom are white men over the age of 60. There are only eight women on the council, and only four people representing ethnic minorities. These are statistics that poorly represent the modern game, and statistics that Dyke and Clarke both feel need to be changed if English football is ever going to take a step forward.

The British government agrees, and has threatened to pull tens of millions in funding from the FA if they don’t agree to a reformation of some sort. This is a crucial time for English football, and the outcome of the current debates and arguments around the FA will direct how things go for the sport in the country for a long time to come.

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