Ftsis 2007: FA In Best Financial Shape For 2018 Bid

Brian Barwick, chief executive of the Football Association, reassured the
gathered delegates at the FT Sport Industry Summit 2007 that the governing body
is the most financially stable it has been in years, ahead of the bid to host
the 2018 World Cup.

He said: ‘We’ve just announced record financial figures for the sale of our
commercial rights and, from this perspective, the Football Association is in as
good a place as its been for a number of years.’

24 hours after Barwick announced that England would bid to host the 2018
World Cup, he told the gathered delegates at the Summit that ‘everything was in
place’ and that a bid felt like ‘ the right thing to do’.

Barwick also defended his decision to introduce measures on player behaviour
at grass-roots level as opposed to the professional end of the spectrum.

He said: ‘You have to start somewhere and beginning at the bottom allows you
to work it from the ground up, eventually bringing it to the professional game.
It’s the logical place to start.’

The trial programme allows only captains to speak to referees amongst a
number of other measures to clamp down on player behaviour.