"Fans want a successful England" says Dyke, as he sets goals for national team

The Football Association’s Chairman, Greg Dyke, has set the England football team with a target of winning the World Cup in 2022.

The 66-year-old former BBC director general is to lead a commission with the aim of improving England teams’ success at international level.

Speaking at a lunch hosted by England team sponsors Vauxhall, Dyke admitted the lack of English-qualified players currently playing in the Premier League was “serious, very serious”, and that he intended The FA to work “hand-in-hand” with the all sections of the game for the sake of the national team and youth development in this country.

Dyke said: “The issue, quite simply, is this: In the future it’s quite possible we won’t have enough players qualified to play for England who are playing regularly at the highest level in this country or elsewhere in the world. As a result, it could well mean England’s teams are unable to compete seriously on the world stage.”

The FA Chairman pointed to the proportion of regular Premier League players qualified to play for England – which at 32 per cent last season has reached an all-time low.

He added: “It is also crucial that English football finds a solution without undermining the undoubted success of the Premier League. We don’t want to kill the golden goose in the search of the golden egg but we do have to do something if the English team is to prosper in the future.

“If not it’s hard to see England even challenging for the World Cup or the Euro Championship in the years ahead.

“If not we will be letting down generations of English kids who might otherwise have made it at the top level in football but weren’t given the chance.

“If not we will be letting down the England fans who turn up in their thousands here at Wembley or watch the England team in their millions on the television. They want a successful England.

“If not we will be letting down the 400,000 volunteers who work with kids every week across England in the belief that the very best will find their way through.”

Dyke believes that England should aim to reach the semi-final of Euro 2020 and to win the World Cup in 2022.