MX23RW : Friday, November 8 01:35:01| >> :120:20325:20325:

FA targeting major international trophy for England by 2024

FA targeting major international trophy for England by 2024
© Reuters
The governing body accepts the coronavirus pandemic may restrict what can be achieved over the next few years.

The Football Association is targeting a major tournament success for its senior men's or women's team by 2024 as part of a new strategy document.

England reached the semi-finals of the most recent men's and women's World Cups in 2018 and 2019 respectively, but the FA has now set the ambition of going all the way to spark "transformational" change to participation levels.

It also intends to ensure girls are afforded the same opportunities to play football as boys at school and at clubs, build and deliver 5,000 quality pitches and establish a digital platform to assist grassroots volunteer with administration.

"International tournament success will be transformational for English football and inspirational for millions of boys and girls," the FA document said.

"Just look at the numbers – 35 million people watched England Men play Croatia in 2018 and 12 million saw England Women take on USA in 2019.

"To achieve our ambition by 2024, we'll strive to deliver the best possible international team operations, coaching and development environment at St George's Park; continue to work with our partners in the game to enhance a talent pathway that gives players the best development opportunities; and foster an inclusive and empowering culture among winning England teams."

England's men's and women's teams both finished fourth at the last World Cups
England's men's and women's teams both finished fourth at the last World Cups (John Walton/PA)

The FA expects losses of £300million as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, but hopes to mitigate that by maximising "the appeal and revenue" of its competitions such as the men's and women's FA Cups and the Barclays Women's Super League.

"We will work collaboratively with clubs, broadcasters and commercial partners to ensure that the reach both domestically and internationally of each competition is maximised, in turn driving revenue that can help to deliver our game-changing investments," the FA said.

The FA accepts the pandemic may "restrict what it can achieve" between now and 2024.

It is not known when fans will be allowed back en masse to watch England at Wembley
It is not known when fans will be allowed back en masse to watch England at Wembley (Nick Potts/PA)

"No one can be certain when we will once again experience a 90,000 sell-out crowd at Wembley, or courses and classrooms full of learners, or clubhouses bustling with volunteers to support the return of many hundreds of thousands of players that have not togged out since February 2020," it said.

"Depending on how long this ambiguity remains, it may restrict what we can achieve over the next four years.

"Yet, we remain steadfast in our belief in the objectives outlined in this strategy, even if they end up requiring longer to achieve."

ID:430223: cacheID:430223:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6941:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
General view of Manchester City's Etihad Stadium taken September 2018
Read Next:
Tributes pour in for Man City's "greatest footballer" Colin Bell
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
1.15am
Bengals
@
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!