Southall: Grass roots are key

Neville Southall wants improvement

Former Everton goalkeeper Neville Southall believes the FA should focus on improving the grass roots game before considering the introduction of B teams.

Southall, who won two league titles with Everton in the 1980s, thinks getting things right at grass-roots level should be the primary concern.

“You always start at the bottom and work your way up, you don’t start at the

top and work your way down,” he said.

“If we don’t make football more accessible for the masses, it won’t matter how

many B teams you’ve got because you won’t have anybody to fill them.”

In line with the FA’s aim of increasing the number of English players in the Premier League, the idea of introducing a new ‘League Three’ for Premier League B teams was put forward.

Last October, the Premier League, FA and UK Government joined forces on a £102m fund to improve grass roots services over three years.

The scheme, which launched in January, will pump cash into improving existing facilities or developing new ones.

“They have to give back,” Southall added. “If they don’t give back, there won’t be any football.”