The FA England Awards: Does England Actually Have Anything to Celebrate?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: February 5, 2013

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In its 150 years of overseeing the beautiful game in England, the Football Association has much to be proud of.

It is the oldest football governing body in the world, having compiled and codified the original rules of the game in 1863. In 1872, it created the FA Cup, the world's oldest and most treasured domestic cup competition. More recently, in 1992, it oversaw the inauguration of the Premier League, an ingenious rebranding of the top tier of English football that has made it the most watched league in the world—and one of the most lucrative.

As part of its 150th anniversary celebration, it staged the FA England Awards at St George's Gate on Sunday night. It was an ideal opportunity to pat itself on the back for a century-and-a-half of good work while recognising the achievements of English football and the national team.

Steven Gerrard was awarded the coveted Men's Player of the Year Award, earning 40 percent of the public vote on TheFA.com.

Journalists from The Daily Mail, The Sun and The Mirror were also recognised for their coverage of the England team.

In many respects, the FA does a fantastic job; it oversees 115,000 teams across the nation, it helps the grassroots game grow and runs 24 England teams across the men's, women's, youth and disability game.

However, I'd like to play devil's advocate and ask a question: Does England actually have anything to celebrate?



The England team may be ranked sixth by the baffling FIFA coefficient, but it is by no means in a state of good health. The Three Lions have failed to get past the quarterfinal stage of a major tournament since Euro '96, held at the home of football itself.

Roy Hodgson's England side whimpered out of Euro 2012 at the quarterfinal stage, having won ugly and shown defensive frailties throughout.

Hodgson's win percentage of .583 was bettered by predecessors Fabio Capello, Sven-Goran Er...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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