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12 March 2008 |
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| VIDEO: The FA Roadshow Q&A at Portsmouth |
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See footage from Fratton Park as a four man panel face the fans in a question and answer session about all things football. |
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12 March 2008 |
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| VIDEO: The FA Roadshow Q&A at Portsmouth Part Two |
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The second part of our video special from Fratton Park. |
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12 March 2008 |
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| VIDEO: The FA Roadshow Skills Coaching |
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Stuart Pearce and Sir Trevor Brooking get involved with local youngsters at The FA Roadshow in Portsmouth. |
The FA’s new Chairman Lord David Triesman made it clear in no uncertain terms that the idea of a ‘39th game’ in the Premiership was something that isn’t a ‘sustainable idea’.
Speaking in the Victory Lounge at Fratton Park as part of The FA’s Roadshow in Portsmouth, Lord Triesman was joined on a four man panel by Director Of Football Development Sir Trevor Brooking, England Under-21 Head Coach Stuart Pearce and England and Pompey goalkeeper David James to face questions from over 200 local fans.
The issue of additional Premiership games being taken abroad was perhaps predictably the first issue that the panel were quizzed upon and Lord Triesman was first to answer.
“Let me start by saying that we don’t want to give any impression that The FA is in some sort of conflict with the Premier League,” revealed Lord Triesman, who began his job at Soho Square in February.
“The Premier League is an incredible league and a pivotal part of what we do, but when we looked at it, there are a number of issues regarding this proposal such as the congestion and the number of fixtures with long distance journeys, which could have an impact on The FA Cup, Carling Cup, possible replays and the interests of the England teams.
“There also has to be some serious regard for the international federations.
“Not just because we want to have the 2018 World Cup in this country, which we really do, but because if you want to have decent relationships with the other international organisations, you’ve got to work at it.
“You can’t just assume that they’ll all go along with something that you think is a good idea. It doesn’t work like that
“I don’t think it’s a sustainable idea and I’m sure they’ll come back with other options, but on behalf of The FA, I’ve made our view completely clear.”
James was also quick to back up Lord Triesman, putting the welfare of the supporters at the forefront of his mind.
“The concern I would have is for the supporters, who already travel far and wide watching their team and whether they could afford to go in the middle of the season,” said James.
“There is also the issue of half empty stadiums wherever they may be. An example being when we played in the Asian Trophy against Liverpool where, with all due respect, I think the stadium was full but not typically with our support.
“There’s also the issue for fans that when your team play in Sydney, if you can’t get there, you lose what is fundamentally your team.
“What we do have in the Premier League is a tremendous commodity and of course we want to share that with the world, but there has to be somewhere we draw the line.”
Be sure to watch the footage of the question and answer section on TheFA.com soon.