The Professional Footballers' Association welcomes the aims and objectives of the FA Chairman's England Commission and looks forward to reading the findings outlined in the new report.
The commission was established by FA Chairman Greg Dyke last September to address long-standing structural issues facing the English game, particularly the declining numbers of homegrown players in the Barclays Premier League.
The commission broadly aims to address two key areas:
- The pathway for players aged between 17 and 21.
- Grassroots facilities.
PFA Chairman Ritchie Humphreys is representing the views of the union and forms part of a 10-man panel which includes Greg Dyke, Roy Hodgson, Rio Ferdinand, Roger Burden, Glenn Hoddle, Danny Mills, Howard Wilkinson, Greg Clarke and Dario Gradi.
The PFA first highlighted the warning signs for the decline of homegrown players after a failed World Cup qualification campaign in 1994. A report was produced entitled 'A Kick in The Right Direction' and focused on the dereliction of grassroots football in England and Wales.
This was followed up in 2007 with the publication of the 'Meltdown' report which suggested 'a crisis at the heart of the English game'.
PFA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor OBE stated: "The Barclays Premier League as a product remains hugely successful both commercially and in terms of entertainment, but you only need to glance at the team-sheets each week to appreciate that fewer homegrown players are filling the major positions in the top teams."
Statistics cited by Dyke in September 2013 support this statement, showing the number of English players in the starting line-ups of top-flight clubs had dropped from 69% to 32% in the past 20 years.
Taylor added: "Globally there is a duty on the industry to ensure the next generation of footballers are given a chance to succeed."
"We need to promote the development of homegrown players and ensure they have a chance to play in Premier League and Championship teams. This is vital to the long-term future of English football and the success of the national team."
Taylor continued: "Football has no divine right to be the most popular sport in this country moving forward and to safeguard the privileged position we have been in for generations, we need to look at how the game is organised at all levels."
The PFA's Coaching department is the largest within the union and helps members progress in gaining their coaching qualifications. This includes players at the top level such as Ryan Giggs, Ledley King, Scott Parker and Patrice Evra.
However, Taylor is keen to emphasise the importance of further investment in the wider grassroots coaching infrastructure: "England has just over 1,000 coaches with a UEFA 'A' level qualification compared with more than 12,000 in Spain and 5,500 in Germany and while we need to encourage the Government to ensure sport is a key part of the education curriculum, we need to focus on developing an identity for the England team moving forward and the coaching of our youngsters has to be the priority.
"If we have top quality coaches filtering down the system as they do in Spain and Germany, the results will come from that. Holland, Italy and France have done it in the past and now Spain and Germany are leading the way and there is no reason why we cannot follow."
The PFA strongly believes that FA Chairman's England Commission provides the framework for an essential national debate and look forward to reading the proposal in more detail.
You can download the report via the FA's website: www.thefa.com
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