Grass-roots issue will loom large over successor
Next FA chief executive has challenging job to fix the ‘shameful’ facilities that blight the game
There is only one conclusion to be drawn from Martin Glenn’s decision to quit as chief executive of the Football Association: he was worn down by the job. It is a shame – not least because it comes just a couple of months after Glenn’s plan to sell Wembley Stadium and “turbo-charge” investment in grass-roots football stalled and was rejected.
The FA argues that Glenn’s announcement he is going at the end of this season has nothing to do with the organisation’s council vetoing the Wembley plan. And, it points out, it was not Glenn’s plan in the first place.
Fair enough. Except for all the structural successes that Glenn leaves behind, there is the verdict of the Football Foundation, the UK’S largest sports charity, which channels money from the FA and Premier League into grass-roots sport, that the country’s facilities remain “in a shameful state”.
That is not Glenn’s fault. It is probably not the FA’S either. But it is an indisputable fact and the biggest single issue looming over his successor because it is simply obscene that a nation with such a football heritage, with the wealthiest governing body in world football and the most financially powerful league, treats the game the way it does.
The Daily Telegraph launched the “Save Our Game: The Fight for The Grass Roots” campaign in the wake of the Wembley decision, with Glenn stating that participation in football among young people had never been higher. He promised a push to deliver the facilities.
Glenn may have argued that improving grass-roots football did not depend on Wembley being sold, but without the sale it will take longer. It may now also take longer with Glenn going.
Beyond that, the most immediate issue is dealing with Brexit and the FA’S ambitious plan to try to impose a quota on the Premier League, which, frankly, appears doomed to failure. Given Glenn is not going until the end of the season, he will probably be there to see how this unfolds, although it is interesting that with Richard Scudamore’s final day as the Premier League’s executive chairman today, both organisations are soon going to be under new leadership.
There is also the planning for Euro 2020 and England’s hopes of hosting the 2030 World Cup.
Adverts for Glenn’s replacement will go out on Monday. That the 57-year-old is quitting is no surprise. Rumours were strong this year – denied by him – that he would not be sticking around for Euro 2020.
Before that, the FA had, in March, already appointed headhunters Odgers Berndtson to sound out potential successors. It said it was part of normal succession planning but, even then, it was apparent that Glenn was growing weary.
It seems inconceivable that potential candidates have not already been identified. But let us see what the adverts bring. It is certainly a challenging job with the widest possible remit: regulator, businessman, custodian of the national game. Punch-bag, also, as the FA is often cited as responsible for virtually every aspect of football, even if many things are way beyond its control.
The credit column for Glenn
Glenn undoubtedly became jaded. It happens. His legacy is largely a good one despite some gaffes
includes: improving the FA’S finances, reform to make it more streamlined and diverse, the growth of the women’s game, the forthcoming introduction of a mid-season break, a better relationship with the Premier League and the resounding success of St George’s Park, while England have won the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups and reached the semi-finals in Russia last summer.
The debit column cannot be ignored and not least how badly bruised Glenn was after the treatment of Eni Aluko and the controversy around the former England Women coach Mark Sampson, the hiring of Sam Allardyce as manager, the comment that he was not a “football expert” after the Euro 2016 debacle and the offence caused by referencing the Star of David in the same breath as the swastika.
Glenn undoubtedly became jaded. It happens. His legacy is largely a good one and he is a good man, even if gaffes have been made. But there is a lot of work still to do. Starting, again, with the grass roots.