football association

The Football Association is at a crossroads in its illustrious history. Facing threats of forced modernisation by the government, the game’s governing body in England knows it needs to be more representative of the game it promotes. Finally, it seems that the constant threats from MPs are finally having a positive effect, as the FA has just announced plans to...

A number of County FA’s observed a Silent Sidelines weekend this month in an attempt to improve the behaviour of coaches and spectators at grassroots youth football matches. Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire’s FAs both held a “Respect Weekend” that involved strict guidelines on what coaches and spectators could do during matches — and by all accounts the initiative was a complete...

Switch on to Premier League football, and there’s a good chance that, sooner or later, you’ll see an example of unprofessional behaviour from the game’s big stars. Unfortunately, we’re now conditioned to accept this as part of the game, but this definitely shouldn’t be the case. The highest paid athletes in the UK are swearing, intimidating officials and opposition players...

The Hillsborough Disaster in 1989 tragically killed 96 Liverpool FC fans on a day that should have brought joy. One of the legacies of the catastrophe is the continued ban on standing in the upper echelons of English football. However, there are signs that the stance of the FA, the Football League and the police is softening. It’s important to...

The FA has been under intense pressure to improve grassroots football in England for many years now. The game’s governing body has launched a raft of initiatives to address issues such as pitch quality, amenities, coaching standards and player behaviour. But are any of these measures actually working? Participation levels at the community level of the game are still falling...

The Premier League dominates the football industry in the UK, so it’s always nice to see community-based projects make the news. The FA Mars Just Play! Initiative recently proved that local amateur football in England is alive and well after revealing more than one million people have attended events so far. The Mars Just Play! scheme is all about the...

Following intense pressure to improve participation levels in football throughout England, the FA has undertaken its largest ever survey into the grassroots game. One of the main causes of plummeting participation levels in England is the state of local pitches, club houses and training facilities. And the results of this huge survey have demonstrated just how passionately people feel about...

Manchester United Januzaj Declines Belgium Offer Already Adnan Januzaj has been swept into the limelight when talks started almost immediately after his performance last weekend with Manchester United against Sunderland. Januzaj scored two goals after Manchester United were looking like they were going to be in yet another troublesome game. At the age of 18, Januzaj must really have been...