? Former Manchester City chairman gets unanimous backing
? Admits it is 'not the easiest time' to take over governing body
David Bernstein will begin a new era at the Football Association next month when his chairmanship of English football's governing body is ratified by the FA council.
Bernstein will head up the full FA group of companies, stepping up from his current position as chairman of Wembley National Stadium Limited, an FA subsidiary. Bernstein conceded it is "not the easiest time" with his appointment coming less than three weeks after the humiliation of England's 2018 World Cup bid.
That failure has fuelled government scrutiny of English football as a whole and, while praising the appointment, the sports minister, Hugh Robertson, also had cautionary words today. "The FA board needs to function better and be more representative of modern British commercial practice, with non-executive directors coming in to break the log jam in the board," Robertson told the Guardian.
Robertson will press that point in a meeting with Bernstein, likely to take place in the first week of the new year ? but he may well be pushing at an open door. Although Bernstein was noncommittal when asked for his views on what are the key areas of change required at the FA today, he has privately stated he is open minded on reform.
Bernstein, who has spent a long career in the boardrooms of major companies across the retail industry, knows the value of proper corporate governance. Indeed, it is interesting that the former Manchester City chairman chose to describe his old club as having been "still in the 19th century" when he joined, a label many would apply to the FA's structures.
However, in contrast to his predecessor, Lord Triesman, Bernstein will be avowedly collegiate. "I will be working very hard and speaking to a lot of people inside and outside of football over the next three or four weeks," he said. "I need to understand the issues and build a consensus and decide on what are our priorities."
Bernstein was the only name put forward by the nominations committee, led by Phil Gartside, the Bolton Wanderers chairman, an indication that his impressive corporate CV matches a strong football pedigree. When he took over its chairmanship in 2008, Wembley Stadium's bank loan had reached �341.5m and the FA risked defaulting on its terms, but his husbandry has since been highly effective. It has also brought him a strong working relationship with Alex Horne, the FA's respected general secretary. Together, along with the Wembley chief executive, Roger Maslin, they negotiated the refinancing of the loan that ensured the stadium's finances would be more manageable.
Nine years as a City director, including five as chairman, gave Bernstein experience of three levels of English league football. His first full season as chairman saw the club relegated to the third tier; in each of the next two his club won promotion. But his biggest legacy as chairman was to negotiate the club's tenancy for the Commonwealth Games stadium at Eastlands, which secured strong foundations for the club.
It is through these roles that Bernstein has forged a very respectable reputation in the English game. Indeed, David Dein, the former Arsenal vice-chairman who was widely viewed as a frontrunner in the process, congratulated Bernstein on his appointment. "I know David very well and I like him very much," Dein said. "I wish him every success."
Bernstein, who is a complete unknown in Nyon and Zurich, is aware he has much work to do in rebuilding relationships with Uefa and Fifa. That could lead to a role for Dein, whose network of influence in the major European clubs and governing bodies would be of great value to the new man.
The incoming chairman also confirmed he will have input only over the "major decisions" concerning the England team set-up. This was not the case for David Triesman, who was heavily involved in football matters. In the interregnum, presided over by Roger Burden, a new Club England was formed.
That means Bernstein will have no operational control on a day-to-day basis. He stated Fabio Capello's future will be "a board matter", but also expressed his own preferences. "I would prefer to see the best manager possible managing the England team," said Bernstein. "If he was English that would be preferable for obvious reasons and I think there is a national desire for that."
There is one more procedural step still to be taken before Bernstein can take over as FA chairman. Although an FA board meeting unanimously put forward Bernstein for the council's approval, it will not be until its meeting on 25 January that a vote on his candidacy can be passed so he can begin the role. After Bernstein's candidacy won the unanimous approval of the board ? having taken less than half an hour to reach that decision ? it would take an unprecedented revolt of the councillors to unseat him now.
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