Bernstein Voted In As New FA Chairman

Former Manchester City chairman David Bernstein has been officially voted in as the new chairman of the Football Association.

Bernstein, 67, spent nine years on the board at City, five as chairman, and beat hot favourite David Dein to the post which has been vacant since the resignation of Lord Triesman in May of this year.

The FA board approved the vote unanimously in December, and the FA Council has now endorsed the appointment.

Bernstein said that one of his first objectives as chairman will be to build strong relationships with top decision makers in the game after England’s failed 2018 World Cup bid.

‘I want to build more effective relationships with international football bodies. There are many lessons to be learned from the events of last year,’ said Bernstein.

‘Outside the football family we must increase the effectiveness of our relationships whether it be with other sporting bodies, the government and broader stakeholders’ he added.

Another role for Bernstein will be to replace Fabio Capello after he steps down from the role in 2012.

Bernstein admitted he cant wait to tackle some of the issues facing him: ‘Over the past few weeks I have been doing a lot of listening. It has confirmed my view that the FA is an outstanding organisation with talented, committed people doing a huge amount of great work of which we should be justifiably proud.’

‘Understandably, much of this work receives little publicity due to the focus on higher profile issues. That was particularly true in 2010.’

‘By bringing stability to the top of our organisation, I hope to create an environment within which all the positive work that we do is better understood and appreciated.’

During his nine years at Manchester City the club returned to the Premier League and Bernstein led the negotiations which saw them secure the lease for their new Eastlands stadium.

Bernstein resigned as chairman of City in 2003 after a boardroom battle with manager at the time Kevin Keegan over strategy and the signing of striker Robbie Fowler. It led to a vote of no confidence in him from the City board.

Since 2003 Bernstein, a chartered accountant, has also been a director of Wembley Stadium and has been chairman since 2008.