Making matches happen

However, Team England extends beyond the eleven players on the pitch. The staging of a home international is no small operation and requires a great deal of planning and organisation. The Times newspaper caught up with The FA's Director of Marketing and Communications Paul Barber to find out what it takes to make an England game happen...

"The first thing we do when a draw is made is look at the country we're scheduled to play and whether the game is a friendly or a qualifier," he explained. "In the case of Greece, it was the last World Cup qualifier and we had decided from the start that if England needed a point to qualify we wanted a big stadium and a huge, partisan crowd, so we decided on Old Trafford.

"The Macedonia match in October will be in Southampton because we don't need a vast stadium and also we haven't been to the South Coast. Sven-Göran Eriksson is consulted at this point. We get his input on our proposed venue, then we do a more detailed recce, taking into account things such as whether the dressing-rooms are big enough. They have to accommodate an international squad of 23 - not just a normal Premiership team. And, of course, all the coaching team have to fit in, too.

"It's the same with the substitutes' bench: where do we put everyone? You can start off with a capacity that looks great, but once you have taken this plus all the media requirements into account, as well as segregation of supporters, suddenly it shrinks and that takes tickets away from fans. If the FA board accepts our recommendation, we go back to the club and discuss commercial terms.

"Then we start talking to the police. At Wembley, we had roughly 30 per cent of fans who travelled from all over the country and 70 per cent who were local, and when we went on the road we thought it would be the same. But it has been the reverse, which creates a logistical problem. Through the ticket sale process we will have a breakdown of where the tickets are going.

"Within a large degree of accuracy, we will know where people will be coming from for the match and we then hand that information over to the police, which allows them to plan staff levels and road issues.

"If there will be a large number of people coming, say, from London for the game in Southampton, will there be roadworks on the M3? Can we work with the Highways Agency to have the work suspended? What times are the trains - is there any flexibility to make sure people can get home? We have a meeting on match morning between team representatives and match officials and one of the more quaint customs is the referee's kit inspection. He also tells the teams at which end they can warm-up and even what colour bibs the substitutes can wear.

"When the game in Southampton is over, we have to get the players home, bearing in mind there will be some who have to be in training with their clubs the next morning. Do we need to lay on a special flight to get the northern-based players home? Southern players can go in cars, which we have to organise - we wouldn't expect them to have to drive themselves home after a game."