Manchester United defender and former England captain Rio Ferdinand has joined former Manchester City defender Danny Mills on the board of the FA Chairman’s England commission which will look at improving the future of the national team. England manager Roy Hodgson was also named following the successful conclusion of the qualifying campaign for the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.
Ferdinand retired from England duty in May. The last of his 81 caps came in June 2011.
FA Chairman Greg Dyke said that there had been lengthy discussions with Ferdinand: “Rio’s vast experience as a player developed through West Ham’s successful youth system, winning Premier League and European titles with Manchester United and representing England at World Cups means he has a huge amount to offer to the debate.
“We have been speaking to Rio and Manchester United for some time about him joining the group – before we named the other members of the Commission. However, as he is a current Manchester United player we needed to be sure that Rio had the necessary time to fully participate on the commission and not impact on his day job. It has been agreed he does.
“As a current player with forthright views and opinions on the game, we can look forward to Rio providing significant insight and experience.
“We will then begin the process of meeting and canvassing opinions from numerous people in football and sport from a wide-range of backgrounds, as the Commission collects evidence and information with a view to reaching conclusions and making recommendations.
“It is important we do not lose sight of the Commission’s main purpose. That is – finding a way of delivering long-term success for the England men’s senior team, particularly by identifying ways to increase the number of players available to the national team playing regularly at the highest level of English football or abroad.”