FA Commission: New four-point plan to boost England football.
The creation of a new tier within the Football League to accommodate Premier League B teams is at the heart of the Football Association commission’s four-point plan to boost English football.
The review also calls for a ban on non-European Union players outside of the top flight and a reduction in non-home-grown players in Premier League squads.
It also wants to develop “strategic loan partnerships” between clubs.
The suggestions are a response to a growing lack of English talent.
Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City are among clubs that have already shown “a lot of interest and enthusiasm” for a new league for B teams, FA chairman Greg Dyke told a news conference.
According to the review, headed by Dyke, only 32% of starters qualified to play for England in the 2012-13 Premier League season, compared to 69% 20 years ago.
The commission’s proposals set an “ambitious but realistic” target of increasing the number of English players in the Premier League to 45% by 2022.
The FA’s report added: “This is still lower than the figures being achieved in Germany and Spain today but it would take English football back to a figure last achieved in 2000.”
England manager Roy Hodgson said he welcomed the proposals.
But he added: “I am just one voice of many who have contributed to this important study and I hope the debate that has been provoked can lead to some real developments in our game.”
The most controversial proposal would be establishing a new League Three in 2016-17, made up of 10 Premier League B teams and 10 Football Conference sides.
B teams could be promoted and relegated between Leagues One, Two and Three and the Conference, but could not play in the Championship and must always be at least one division below the full side. They would also be barred from entering domestic cup competitions like the League Cup and FA Cup.
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