It’s not been a good year for the Football Association, but they have a chance to start to put things right with the appointment of a new chairman. Should it be someone from inside football or someone with a track record of success in another walk of life altogether? This interesting blog post reflects on these issues.
It’s not been a good year for the Football Association, but they have a chance to start to put things right with the appointment of a new chairman. Should it be someone from inside football or someone with a track record of success in another walk of life altogether? This interesting blog post reflects on these issues.
My personal view is that the ‘world of football’ is too much of a closed policy community from which the fans in particular are largely excluded, despite the good efforts of various fan organisations like the Football Supporters’ Federation. It needs a breath of fresh air from outside. That doesn’t necessarily mean a high profile personality like Alan Sugar. It’s not a job for a celebrity, but they do need media skills and some kind of ‘wow’ factor.
The Coalition Agreement recognises the need to tackle issues of football governance. Although this can start at the bottom with supporters’ trusts, action needs to be taken to sort out the FA which has failed in many of its regulatory responsibilities. The FA can put its own house in order, but it needs some ‘nudging’ from outside to use the term from behavioural economics currently popular with the Government.