World Cup 2010 - safety preparations

With thousands of England football fans expected to travel to South Africa later this year to watch the 2010 football World Cup tournament, work is taking place behind-the-scenes by Foreign Office staff in partnership with the authorities in South Africa to ensure visiting fans have a safe and enjoyable trip.



As part of its preparations, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has this week run a planning exercise. Staff at the British High Commission in Pretoria along with staff from the FCO's Crisis Response Centre in London responded to a simulated scenario to test their consular procedures and make sure preparations to provide assistance to British nationals in the event of a real emergency are as robust as possible.

Road traffic accidents occur the world over, and the fictional scenario was based on a coach crash involving British nationals. The event was briefed to High Commission staff via a mock news report. Immediately, staff implemented emergency plans, sending out a team to the crash site to provide on-the-ground assistance to people involved in the incident.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is running a 'Be on the Ball' campaign aimed at helping England fans travelling to South Africa for the World Cup to have a safe and enjoyable trip. Further information can be found at www.fco.gov.uk/worldcup

News: England's 2018 World Cup Bid Cities Announced

England's 2018 World Cup bid team have announced the names of the 12 cities that will be part of their campaign after Derby, Leicester and Hull were dropped from the original shortlist.

2018 deputy chairman Lord Mawhinney announced a list of 16 venues in the 12 cities, which included Milton Keynes, Plymouth and several venues yet to be built.

2018 Host Cities;

Birmingham – Villa Park
Bristol – New Ashton Vale Stadium
Leeds – Elland Road
Liverpool – Anfield or New Anfield
London – Wembley, Emirates Stadium, New White Hart Lane or Olympic Stadium
Manchester – City of Manchester Stadium, Old Trafford
Milton Keynes – Stadium MK
Newcastle – St James' Park
Nottingham – New stadium
Plymouth – New Home Park
Sheffield – Hillsborough
Sunderland – Stadium of Light

Full article on Guardian.co.uk

Photo - Bristol City's proposed new stadium

090909 : 5-1

Bring on South Africa.

Nearly 20 years on, this is still awesome..

FFC Survey: England Fans

We're running a survey of England fans with Givemefootball.com - The Official website of the Professional Footballers' Association. The survey is 7 questions long and asks about;

• Fans' Right to Boo


• The Formation of the England Squad


• England's Manager

Click here to take part

Many thanks for your support

The FFC Team

FFC Results: England Euro 2008 Fans Reaction Covered in The Sun

The Sun are covering the results of the FFC England Fans Euro 2008 survey today amid reports that Jose Mourinho, who polled 4 times as many votes as the next two nearest candidtes in the survey, is not ruling himself out of the running for the England job.

To read the coverage of the FFC survey online - Click here. Here's the Newspaper article as it appears in today's edition:

Mourinho not ruling himself out;

FFC Results: England Euro 2008 - Fans Reaction

The results of The Football Fans Census survey of over 3,000 England fans from all Premier, Football League and a range of Non League Clubs has revealed that only 4% believe England will win the tournament in 2010.

The survey was run hot on the heels of The FA’s announcement to conduct a 'root and branch review' into the senior England set up following the defeat to Croatia. Fans will be hoping for some positive steps, as only 13% of them currently believe that the side will get beyond the Quarter Final stage in the 2010 World Cup.

England’s Poisoned Chalice?

The majority of fans (54%) believe the England Manager’s job has become a poisoned chalice. 60% of fans think there is too much pressure on the England Manager and 25% think that there is “way too much” pressure. Worryingly, for everyone who has the best interests of the English national team at heart, 76% of fans feel there is a possibility that the amount of pressure on the England Manager could make it difficult to attract the best candidates.

McClaren Had To Go - But Others Should Share Responsibility

While 94% of fans endorse The FA’s decision to sack Steve McClaren - they also feel that others should shoulder the responsibility.

When asked who they would blame the most for England's failure to qualify for the European Championships, 45% of fans blame the players - only 6% less than those who blame the manager. In another indictment of the “Golden Generation”, only 35% of fans think that the players still care enough about playing for England, although the majority of fans (58%) do not feel that individual players should be booed.

81% of fans feel it was right to sack Terry Venables, but their discontent does not end in the dressing room; 67% of supporters feel that Brian Barwick, The FA Chief Executive, should take “a lot” (45%) or “full” (22%) responsibility for England's failure to qualify for the European Championships. The majority of supporters (54%) also feel that FA Chairman, Geoff Thompson should take a lot (40%) or full (14%) responsibility.

Nationality Not An Issue

England fans want the best person for the England Manager job, regardless of nationality, and they feel that that person is Jose Mourinho.

The results are a clear indication that the majority of fans want the best man for the job, regardless of nationality. Non-English managers picked up 70% of the total manager vote, while only 14% of fans state that the next manager ‘has to be English’.

Fans were asked who they would like to see appointed as the next England Manager from a choice of 20 of the bookies’ favourite candidates on the day Steve McClaren was sacked.

Jose Mourinho emerges as the clear favourite among England fans as the man they want to succeed Steve McClaren. The “Special One” polled 36% of the vote, and in doing so received over four times as many votes as the two next best placed managers - Martin O’Neill and Harry Redknapp - both on 8% each.

Club & Country

The club v country debate is often central to discussions about the national side. While fans are most loyal to their clubs, they are also signalling that they want football’s decision makers to ensure that future developments in the game strike a balance between club football and the strength of the national side. When asked which is most important for them, a majority of fans 51% said their club, but 43% replied that club and country were equally important to and 6% said their country was most important.

The majority of fans aren’t too concerned about the effect the number of club games played has on the English National side (57% of think that the current amount of club games played has a neutral impact) however there is a significant minority of 31% who do feel that there is a negative impact.

Premier League Power

Fans are also questioning whether The FA has enough power within the game to implement the right strategy, only 14% of fans feel the balance of power between The FA and the Premier League is about right. 54% of fans feel the Premier League has too much power compared to The FA, while only 20% feel The FA has too much power.

Foreign Players

Whilst the quality of play in the Premier League may have benefited from an influx of foreign players, 59% of fans think that the current level of foreign players has a negative impact on the English National side.

Coaching System

There is a feeling that the coaching system is partly to blame for England’s failure in the Euro 2008 campaign, 76% of fans think that the English coaching system is not producing enough good English players, while 66% of fans feel that cutting the number of foreign players training through the club Academy systems would have a positive impact on the English national side.

Click here to download full report

FFC Survey: England Fans Survey

This was supposed to be the "Golden Generation" of English players, instead it is the first time England have failed to qualify for a major tournament since 1994...

The England Fans Survey gives you a chance to have your say on some of the key issues facing England.

• Who do you blame most for England not qualifying?
• Are we producing enough good English players?
• Was it right to sack McClaren and Venables?
• How far will England get in the World Cup 2010 campaign?

Click here to Have Your Say