The Football Association

Known as The FA, the Football Association governs association football in England and the Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man. It is the oldest football association in the world, having been founded in 1863 and overseeing all aspects of amateur and professional football in its territory.

All competitive football matches within the FA's remit are facilitated by the FA at national level, and indirectly by county football associations at local level. The most famous of these competitions is the FA Cup. In addition, it appoints the management of the men's, women's, and youth national teams.

It is a member of both UEFA and FIFA, as well as the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which oversees the Laws of the Game. It is the first football association without using the national name "English" in its title. Wembley Stadium, in London, is the FA's headquarters. The FA represents Great Britain at the Olympic games as a member of the British Olympic Association. 

Every football club in England is a member of the Football Association. Although it does not run the day-to-day affairs of the Premier League, it has veto power over the appointment of the League Chairman and Chief Executive, and over any changes to league rules.The English Football League, which is divided into three divisions below the Premier League, is self-governing, subject to the FA's sanctions.

Women's football

Through the charitable games played by women's teams during and after the First World War, women's football had become increasingly popular by 1921. The Football Association banned all women's teams from playing on grounds affiliated to the FA in 1921 out of jealousy of the crowd's interest in women's games, which frequently exceeded the level of interest in top men's teams. It was widely thought that football damaged women's bodies.

As a result of this decision, women's football virtually ceased to exist for several decades. It only reversed from 1969 when, after the increased interest in football caused by England's 1966 World Cup triumph, the Women's Football Association was founded, but it would take another two years for the (men's) Football Association to remove its restrictions on women's teams.It was not until 1983 that the WFA was able to become a "County Association" and only in 1993 did the FA create the "Women's Football Committee" to manage women's football in England.

UK football sexual abuse scandal

The main article: United Kingdom football sexual abuse scandal

Allegations of widespread historical sexual abuse at football clubs dating back to the 1970s began emerging in mid-November 2016. As of 21 November, the Football Association said it would start a helpline; this was set up with the NSPCC and opened on 24 November,receiving over 50 calls within two hours, over 100 by 27 November, and 860 ("more than three times as many referrals as in the first three days of the Jimmy Savile scandal") by 1 December with 350 individuals alleging abuse. The FA and NSPCC also collaborated to produce a film about how to keep children safe in the sport, featuring the captains of England's men's, women's and cerebral palsy football teams (Wayne Rooney, Steph Houghton and Jack Rutter).

In November 2017, the FA announced it would set up an internal review, led by independent counsel Kate Gallafent QC, into what Crewe and Manchester City knew about convicted child sex offender Barry Bennell and allegations of child sexual abuse in the game, as well as investigate what information it had at the time of the alleged offences.

The Former sport minister Gerry Sutcliffe expressed concern at the way the FA dealt with governance and youth issues in the past. Conservative MP Damian Collins, chair of the House of Commons' Culture, Media and Sport Committee, criticized the FA for taking too long to react and not initiating a wider review. development (in the 1990s, the FA was said to have reacted "dismissively" to worries about sexual abuse in the game, and too The FA was slow to implement criminal record checks; in 2003, it scrapped a project that was intended to protect children from sexual abuse; and FA officials had been uncooperative with the research, with ten out of 14 employees failing to respond to interview requests and a report by researchers indicating that others in the FA were not cooperating. "[38] Sutcliffe said an independent body, such as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport should look into the matter rather than the FA investigating itself: "What I've seen in football through the years is that they're very narrow, very insular, and may not do a proper job despite the best intentions."

The FA announced on 6 December 2016 that the review would be conducted by Clive Sheldon QC, due in part to "the increased scope of the review since it was announced", and Gallafent's other professional commitments. On 11 January 2017, the Sheldon review wrote to all football clubs in England and Wales, amateur and professional, asking for information about allegations of child sexual abuse between 1970 and 2005. In According to reports in March 2018, 500,000 pages of material from 6,000 files were uploaded to a digital platform, and 353 documents were identified as highly relevant. Sheldon expects to complete his final report by August 2018.

In According to reports from July 2018, the FA's independent inquiry found no evidence of an institutional cover-up nor of a paedophile ring operating within the game. Sheldon's report, likely to be highly critical of several clubs, was initially scheduled for delivery in September 2018. However, its publication has been delayed, potentially by up to a year, pending the retrial of Bob Higgins and possible further charges against Barry Bennell..

The 700-page report was published on 17 March 2021. It revealed a failure to act appropriately on complaints or rumours of sexual abuse at eight professional clubs: Aston Villa, Chelsea, Crewe Alexandra, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Preston North End, Southampton and Stoke City. The report also made 13 recommendations for further improvement, including appointing a "Its recommendations include a "national safeguarding champion", spot checks of amateur clubs, and an annual safeguarding report. However, the measures were criticized for being too late and lacking ambition. The FA issued a "heartfelt apology" to survivors and said it would implement all of Sheldon's recommendations.

FA 2017 reform

Former FA executives David Bernstein, David Davies, Greg Dyke, Alex Horne and David Triesman called on Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee to propose legislation to reform the FA, claiming it was outdated, unable to counter the power of the Premier League and unable to "reform and modernise in a fast-changing world."

In During the FA's annual general meeting in May 2017, it was announced that some reforms, including reducing the size of its board and increasing the number of women, would be submitted for approval. However, this was criticized for not going far enough, particularly to improve minority representation. The proposals were approved.

Introducing three female board positions by 2018.

The board will consist of ten members by 2018.

It is intended to "better reflect English football's inclusive and diverse nature" by adding 11 new members to the FA Council.

Setting a limit of three terms on board membership for the FA.

Introducing term limits for FA Council members

As a result, pressure for FA reform increased due to accusations of racism and bullying in connection with the Mark Sampson and Eniola Aluko cases, and the historical sexual abuse scandal. In October 2017, FA chairman Greg Clarke announced a "fundamental" review of the FA after admitting it had "lost the trust of the public" following the Sampson controversy. In the same month, Clarke was criticized for remarks Clarke made at a DCMS hearing by sexual abuse victim Andy Woodward and the PFA's Gordon Taylor.

Clarke resigned as FA chairman in November 2020 due to his use of the term "coloured" when referring to black players in comments made via video link to the DCMS committee. The FA announced they were looking for a new chairman, with the aim of having appointed their successor by March 2021.

Crown dependencies

The football associations in Jersey (Jersey Football Association), Guernsey (Guernsey Football Association) and the Isle of Man (Isle of Man Football Association) are affiliated with the FA despite their separate identities from the United Kingdom and by extension England.The FA considers them to be county associations. Matt Le Tissier and Graeme Le Saux were both born in Guernsey and Jersey, respectively, but have represented the FA's full national representative team.

Since 1903, 1908 and 1905 respectively, the Guernsey Football Association, Isle of Man Football Association and Jersey Football Association have been affiliated with the FA.

FIFA closed a loophole in May 2008, allowing players born in the Channel Islands to select which nation they wish to represent on the international stage. The Jersey-born Trevor Wood and the Guernsey-born Chris Tardif were the representatives of Northern Ireland in the 1990s.

Overseas territories

Gibraltar's Gibraltar Football Association was a member of the Football Association from 1911 until it chose to become a member of UEFA following a fourteen-year legal battle. [When?]] In response to Geoff Thompson's intervention, Gibraltar FA President Joseph Nunez claimed he was "unilaterally thrown out" of the organization.

The Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) has been operating since 1914, making it one of Asia's oldest soccer federations. In addition to joining FIFA in 1954, they were also one of twelve founding members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). In 1956, Hong Kong hosted the first Asian Cup, which played an important role in the development of Asian football. In 1997, the UK renounced the dependent territory to the People's Republic of China.

British overseas territories such as Anguilla, Ascension Island, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, and Turks and Caicos also have local football associations or leagues, but these organizations are not part of the Football Association.

The British overseas territories may be too small to support professional teams, but they have produced players like Clyde Best who went on to play professionally for the Football Association, and referees like Carlyle Crockwell who have handled FIFA matches.

Relationship with FIFA

The Football Association became a member of FIFA in 1905. Following World War I, when FIFA did not exclude those who were part of the Central Powers from the organisation, the British Associations (England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) opted to leave FIFA. By 1922, the British Association had changed its position and joined FIFA in 1924.

It fought against 'broken time,' or monetary compensation for athletes' earnings when they competed in the Olympics. As part of an amendment made by the British at the Olympic Congress in Prague in 1925, governing federations were required to determine amateur status for their sports in accordance with the definition of amateurism accepted by the Olympic Congress. Switzerland proposed to FIFA in 1928 that 'broken time' payments should be permitted in certain circumstances, and FIFA agreed. FIFA resigned after the FA protested the proposal. England did not participate in the 1930, 1934 or 1938 FIFA World Cups due to the FA's resignation.

Belgian delegates proposed at the 1930 Olympic Congress in Berlin that each sport's international federation define amateur status. BoA argued that 'broken time' payments were counter to the Olympic ideal and demanded a common definition of amateurism.

In 1950, the FA participated in its first World Cup after rejoining FIFA in 1946. The Football Association requested the expulsion of both the German and Japanese national football associations for their role in World War II. As a result, Germany and Japan were not eligible to qualify for the 1950 FIFA World Cup. In 1950, FIFA re-established contact with Switzerland, which had been rejected by FIFA in 1948.