The best football is played in England

It may well have been in jest, but the phrase "abolition of the FA" has been tweeted already. If naming the concept makes it real, we're in for a strange and bumpy ride this season.
Reactions to World Cup early exit syndrome - a non epidemic affliction which necessarily affects 16 of the competing 32 teams at the final whistle of the group stages - vary from country to country, but not greatly.In France, premier Sarkozy has requested an investigation and the higher echelons of the FFF have stepped down. In Nigeria, president Goodluck Jonathan is making noises about suspending the national squad from competition for two years, to allow proper restructuring from within to take place in their Football Association.
England, funnily enough, actually started the World Cup with the FA in turmoil. The chairman, Lord Triesman, was forced to resign after a 'private' conversation was taped and leaked to the newspapers. He said he "commentated on speculation circulating about conspiracies around the world. Those comments were never intended to be taken seriously as indeed is the case with many private conversations.
"The views expressed were not the views of the 2018 bid board or the FA. Nobody should be under any misapprehension that the FA or 2018 bid board are disrespectful of other nations or FIFA and I regret any such inference that may have been drawn from what has been reported."
One could imagine a national squad starting a World Cup, as the chief head in the governing body which rules the sport is discredited and turfed out, might be in the middle of an institutional crisis. But how little was made of Triesman's departure is perhaps an indication of how the FA's influence has diminished.
English football is widely regarded as the dream destination for professional players. The EPL is the richest and still considered by many as the best league in the world. The number of top stars gracing the South Africa stage that play or have played in England is staggering. Indeed, a bunch of so-called Premiership rejects are still doing their bit in national colours: Diego Forlan, Robinho, Elano, Juan Veron, Giovani dos Santos, G Fernandes, Oguchi Onyewu, Tiago, Dennis Rommedahl, Jon Dahl Tomasson.
Week in and week out, Carlos Tevez, Robin van Persie, et al join forces with Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney, speedily playing the endto-end game with all their might. But what makes league season so exciting on the Isles is the very fact that it combines all these different talents, adding to the potency of the English way that international flair and skill.
The creation of the Premier League was more a financial concept than a sport development project. As the money started rolling in - and lots of it; far more than ever imagined by some - the power of the institution grew. The Premiership is a separate entity from the FA and as such does not have any social responsibilities or obligations to nurture grassroots, plan international calendars, or promote facilities for minority groups. In fact, one could argue, their interests directly conflict with those of the national squad - club vs country is often an issue but Premier League vs FA has become a piercingly real dichotomy at the top of English football.
The best football in the world is not English; it is played in England. A fact that has been brought home this June with painful echoes for the fans back home. Now, there is more than the appointment of a new chairman that is required. England will have to look long and hard at how the game is to be nurtured if they are to avoid allowing the joke of abolition of the FA to become a reality.