FA Chairman Greg Dyke welcomed HRH The Duke Of Cambridge to Wembley Stadium on Wednesday 6 April to celebrate his ten years as FA President and made the following speech.
Your Royal Highness, welcome to Wembley Stadium for this very special day to commemorate your ten years as President of The Football Association.
For my part, it has been a privilege to be Chairman during the last three years and to have had the honour of working closely with you in that time.
It has been a remarkable decade that has seen much change across the organisation.
HRH The Duke Of Cambridge with FA Chairman Greg Dyke, chief executive Martin Glenn and Operations Director Julie Harrington
I don’t want to turn this into a history lesson but I think it appropriate to have a brief look at where The FA was back in April 2006.
After all, ten years ago:
• this remarkable stadium was still a building site
• the national football centre was just an idea on paper
• the Women’s Super League did not exist
• we didn’t have the Skills programme which has provided eight million kids places AND
• England had not won a major tournament in 40 years.
OK, we are still working on the last one but roll on this summer – or, if not, roll on 2022 the tournament I've promised we will win.
I do think we can point to a decade of positive progress. Especially if you consider The FA’s broad remit to support the national game and to govern English football for the good of all.
During The Duke’s time, the not-for-profit FA has grown participation, particularly amongst kids and women, become more diverse and is annually investing more and more back into the game – £117 million this past year alone.
We are also on as sound a financial base as anyone can remember which is good news for the future. We take decisions based on strong principles and with conviction that we must lead and set the right example.
In all of these areas and more, The Duke has shown a keen interest and has been a wonderful supporter of The FA.
Of course, he is mainly seen by the watching millions at Cup Finals handing over the trophy – but I can assure you much more goes on behind the scenes.
While he was at St. George’s Park last year to meet our Lionesses and hear about their plans for the Women’s World Cup in a very public setting, he also met with Dan Ashworth away from the cameras to grill him about plans for the national teams and coaching in general.
He cares about our development teams; about what we are doing to get a common thread between youth sides and the senior set-up and about how we are building up our support staff.
FA President HRH The Duke Of Cambridge speaks to England manager Roy Hodgson
He doesn’t just listen. He asks a lot of questions and always has a clear point of view. He brings his own experiences to bear – whether that is from his range of other professional roles or from just being a football-loving dad of two who still gamely plays the game himself.
Mind you, rumour has it that the occasionally he uses his connections to help his team. One week he turned up for his regular six a side match and brought a friend along to join his side – David Beckham.
Given that he's an Aston Villa fan, he knows a remarkable amount about the game.
Of course we all saw The Duke rather reluctantly handing over The FA Cup to Arsenal last May after they played his beloved Aston Villa off the Wembley pitch.
I shall always remember that game for what The Duke said to me as the hordes of Villa fans streamed out of the stadium after The Final. He said ‘it’s all right for them, they can leave. I have to stay here and smile’.
But what you probably don't know is he was also here in a private capacity at the Semi-Final with some of his closest mates as Villa rose to the occasion and won a thriller against Liverpool.
Keep smiling Sir, you can only hope things are going to get better for the Villa in the near future.
While the elite end of the game gets the most public attention, The Duke has been particularly keen to support the grassroots.
HRH The Duke Of Cambridge was at Wembley for his tenth anniversary as FA President
It was his idea to play a match in the Queen’s back garden to mark The FA’s 150th anniversary in 2013 and it was the Prince who persuaded his grandmother that it wouldn't mess up her lawn.
Crucially, it was also his idea to make it a game between two amateur teams rather than a team full of football greats or celebrities. That would have been the easy option for headlines but it would have sent the wrong message entirely.
We did have some extra stardust that day though. The man in the middle was our World Cup Final referee Howard Webb who managed to avoid sending off anyone during such a historic fixture. I am delighted that Howard is with us today.
I have experienced a lot during my time here and I hope will still have a few more highlights to come this summer – no pressure there Roy – but I would be hard pushed to think of a more memorable moment than that day in the sun at Buckingham Palace.
Before kick-off, we celebrated 150 grassroots heroes from across the country, with the Duke meeting every single one. He then took part in a special training session before the big kick-off. It was a remarkable day and thankfully there wasn’t a smashed Palace window in sight and the even lawn looked OK at the end of the match.
Of course, there have been other less happy times during the last ten years.
I don’t want to dwell on our bid for the 2018 World Cup and a certain Swiss gentleman other than to say that our policy of refusing to bid for FIFA tournaments while he was still in position had the Royal seal of approval.
Thankfully, today there is a brighter picture on the global stage and The Duke’s presence at our 150th anniversary gala dinner and also in addressing the UEFA Congress three years ago in London did much to enhance our international reputation.
Whatever the subject, whatever the request, The Duke has been a wonderful and hard-working supporter of football in every sense of the word and I say that particularly to these sections of the press who seem to think otherwise.
He is a superb ambassador who recognises what we strive to do every single day and who holds us to account for all the decisions we make on behalf of the game. I am delighted we have many media representatives in the room and – trust me guys – The Duke asks tougher questions than most of the journalists we encounter.
He knows we are responsible for every single player, fan or official – he knows that we have to set the right example for others to follow. I make no apology for being proud of the work The FA, the County FAs, the leagues and clubs do to promote the game, to grow the game and to protect the game in an ever-changing landscape. I truly believe English football is still respected the world over and the Duke plays a large part in helping us achieve that.
Put simply, we are very fortunate to have The Duke as President and we should never take it for granted.
I also know he takes the future of the game very seriously. In this regard, I trust that young Prince George and then Princess Charlotte will soon be enrolled in FA Skills programmes and that he may find himself in France to cheer on Roy’s boys this summer.
Now we thought what do you give to the future King of the United Kingdom to mark our gratitude of the ten years of support and dedication?
Sir, we didn’t think your wife would welcome yet another piece of Wembley merchandise around the house so instead we have something more personal just for you. Your very own England cap.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge – President of The Football Association.
[PLAY VIDEO
Now we thought what do you give to the future King of the United Kingdom to mark our gratitude of the ten years of support and dedicatiSir we didn’t think your wife would welcome yet another piece of Wembley merchandise around the house so instead we have something more personal just for you. Your very own England cap.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge – President of The Football Association.
