Date: Thursday 29 July

Time: 7.30pm - 9.30pm

Venue: Harcourt Arms, 32 Harcourt Street, W1H 4HX

Motion: This House Would cut government funding for the Football Association


Background:

The dismal performance of the national team in the World Cup last month left English football in disarray and reignited the debate over whether the sport's governing body, the Football Association (FA), is fit for purpose.

The government has been pressuring the FA to accept a raft of sweeping reforms first proposed back in 2005 and has threatened to cut funding before, but has never followed through.

As Britain comes to term with the austerity budget with government departments facing up to 40% cuts in some cases, is it time the new government laid down the law and cut funding to the FA?

You decide.

Join the debate:

There will be four speakers in this debate, each of whom will have five minutes to make their case. After that there will be an extensive Q&A session to allow the audience plenty of time to have their own say from the floor. The motion will then be put to a vote.

There's always plenty of time to grab a drink and get settled before the event starts and we always stick around for a few more once it's over as inevitably that is always when the real debating begins.

If you have any questions or need any more information, do not hesitate to email me at central.debating@gmail.com

Getting there:

If you would like to watch this debate, then simply come along on the night. You will find us in the upstairs dining room of the Harcourt Arms pub at 32, Harcourt Street W1H 4HX (a max 1o min walk from Baker St tube). For directions, see this map.

Admission:

Admission is, as ever, totally free of charge. All are welcome, so if you know anyone who might be interested in this debate, do feel free to bring them along.

Further reading:


1) Proposed government reforms of the FA (BBC)

2) New coalition sports minister presses FA for reform (FC Business)

3) Serious financial challenges ahead for FA (Guardian)

4) Sweeping cuts to sport budget (Guardian)

5) National team will continue to struggle until FA is reformed (Daily Telegraph)

6) FIFA rules prohibit government from interfering in FA affairs (Financial Times)

7) FA set for state independence (Daily Mirror)


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Best Wishes

Tony