The FA's Acting Chief Executive sets the record straight

Some press stories this morning suggested that there might be a possibility of England playing in an international tournament also featuring the Home Nations and Australia....

However, we can confirm that there is no such intention here at Soho Square.

The FA's Director of Marketing and Communications, Paul Barber told us: "There have been no such discussions."

His sentiments were echoed by The FA's Acting Chief Executive David Davies who told TheFA.com: "We can confirm that when they were over here for the recent friendly game, we did have discussions with the Australian FA about them playing friendly matches in this country.

"In principle we have no objection to this and can see how it may be of benefit to some of our clubs.

"However, I am not aware of any discussions concerning tournaments involving us, Australia and the Home Nations.

"As far as England is concerned, we are well advanced in the planning of fixtures that take us right up to the Euro 2004 Finals, which we will hopefully be competing in.

"It's virtually impossible to see how any return match against Australia could be staged before then, let-alone us taking part in any Home Nations tournament."

We will keep you updated should there be any further news on this story.

From Daniel Freedman