Government warns FA "reform or face cuts"
The FA must "reform or face cuts"
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The government has warned the Football Association to implement reform or face cuts.
Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe has insisted the FA act on previous recommendations, warning that if they are not met the government will look at the option of withdrawing funding.
"Funding is one lever we've got. It would be a last resort. But there has to be, and there already is, a recognition that the status quo is not good enough." Sutcliffe told the Guardian newspaper.
The warning follows the FA's failure to act on recommendations set out by Lord Burns in 2005 in an attempt to streamline the governing body. He claimed it would enable it to work more effectively with the Premier League and the Football League.
Sutcliffe has been quick to quash concerns that the warning could harm England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
"No, definitely not. At the start of the letter it says English football is a success story," he said.
"But this is a conversation that has been had now for a number of years. It started off in 2005, all I'm doing is continuing the dialogue."