As the dust settled this week on another major tournament and all its repercussions, it’s quite something to reflect that it’s now four major finals in four years for England’s men and women’s teams. But it’s no surprise or coincidence. English football has built a system which is producing world-leading players and teams we can all be very proud of.
The vision to transform English football out of the doldrums came from Howard Wilkinson who has never received the credit he deserves for his Charter for Quality, a blueprint that set out an ambitious plan for a National Football Centre, academies, mini soccer and the raising of standards in children’s football. It was groundbreaking for an organisation that had previously failed to put the football in the Football Association.
