Everything sweet for FA

By Paul Saffer

Inevitably, most coverage of English football focuses on the cosmopolitan Premiership, the all-star national team and the drama of the FA Cup - the world's oldest club competition.

Million-plus players
But English football, and the work of the Football Association (FA) - who first codified the game in 1863 - runs much deeper. There is a thriving national game of 1.3 million registered players, England's youth teams are a fixture in the final rounds of UEFA competitions, and record crowds are expected when the FA hosts UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™ this June.

WOMEN'S EURO
From England's opening game on 5 June in the 48,000-capacity City of Manchester stadium, to the final at Ewood Park in Blackburn, the 15-match tournament is expected to eclipse any previous edition in terms of size and coverage, and the FA, drawing on their experience of putting on the 1966 FIFA World Cup, EURO '96™ and the UEFA European Under-16 and U18 Championships, are relishing the challenge.

'Huge honour'
Tournament director Andrew Halstead, whose team have been working on the event for more than a year, said: "Staging the tournament is a huge honour for the FA and presents a real challenge to host the best possible tournament we can. We encourage people to book their tickets now for the games they want to see."

TV coverage
Interest in women's football has been growing. National broadcaster, the BBC, will give nightly coverage of the games, and England women's home friendlies are now televised live along with cup finals. And while Hope Powell's team will be attempting to wrest the title from Germany, other England sides will be also be striving to clinch European titles this summer.

Youth success
Last week both the U17 and U19 teams qualified for their respective championship final tournaments, each with 100 per cent records and in front of healthy home crowds - unsurprising, perhaps, as the 29,100 attracted to Sunderland for the last U16 final in 2001 between Spain and France was easily the highest of the 19 held.

'Very impressed'
Former England midfield player Sir Trevor Brooking, now the FA's director of football development, reflected: "It is excellent news that both the U17s and U19s have qualified for their respective European Championships. I saw the U19s' win over Sweden and I was very impressed with what I saw."

Winning week
Between 26-30 March, six different England teams played 12 fixtures, winning every game. With the U21 team also top of their group, the U20s and U18s unbeaten this season, the women's U19s having easily topped their European Championship pool, it is not just David Beckham and co that are currently riding high. There has even been a concerted effort by the FA to promote Futsal and compete at international level.

Financial concerns
Of course, English football has not been without its problems. Despite some huge media deals, half of the Football League clubs - the three divisions below the Premiership - have suffered serious financial problems, and the same pattern has been seen in the largest semi-professional leagues, as teams gamble on promotions that they cannot all achieve.

Strength in depth
However, a structure that supports more than 100 full-time professional clubs and many more close to that standard, does well to take that strain. The fact that two recent British international captains - England's Stuart Pearce and Vinny Jonesof Wales - were produced by a club that has never played in the League, Wealdstone FC, shows that there is a whole world outside the latest goings on at Old Trafford and Highbury.