Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 8th: Behind the dream of "bringing football home" - Ten years of reform of English football Xinhua News Agency reporter Xiao Shiyao "It's coming home, it's coming home (Football is coming home, football is coming home)" ——This is the lyrics of "T

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 8th Title: Behind the dream of "bringing football home" - ten years of reform of English football

Home)" - these are the lyrics of "Three Lions", the theme song of the 1996 European Championships in England. This song is almost a household name in the UK, describing the glory and pride of England as the birthplace of modern football. Since then, "Bring Football Home" has become the slogan of the England team in every World Series.

html On July 3, England player Henderson (front right) hugged teammate Kane (front left) to celebrate scoring a goal during the game. On the same day, in the quarter-finals of the European Football Championship in Rome, Italy, the England team defeated the Ukrainian team 4-0 and advanced to the semi-finals. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Cheng Tingting

However, for a long time, success did not favor the "Three Lions". To this day, the England team has never won the European Championship, which symbolizes the highest honor of European football, and this slogan has almost become a laughing stock.

In the semi-finals of the 2020 European Championship held on the 7th, the England team defeated Denmark 2:1 and reached the final for the first time in team history. Throughout the game, chants of "Football is coming home" resounded throughout London's Wembley Stadium. The Englishman has never been closer to his dream. They have been sharpening their swords for ten years for this moment.

All changes began in 2011. At that time, the England team was still shrouded in the haze of failing to enter the 2008 European Championship and failing to reach the top 16 of the 2010 World Cup. The strength of the Premier League does not seem to have led to the rise of the English team. After learning from the painful experience, the Football Association and the Premier League developed the "Elite Player Performance Plan" ("EPPP" for short). This plan was passed at the end of 2011 and implemented starting in 2012. It strives to carry out drastic reforms to the entire youth training system:

breaks the restriction that clubs must recruit players within a 90-minute drive and encourages youth training camps to break through "local protectionism". Players; establish a four-level youth training camp system, and the Football Association will allocate resources according to the youth training camp level. The highest-level youth training camp must be equipped with at least 18 full-time coaches and have an annual investment of no less than 2.5 million pounds (1 pound is approximately 8.95 yuan); establish a complete youth league system, organize a large number of competitions, and cancel the youth league rankings below U17. A number of reform measures have been implemented, including downplaying championshipism; increasing investment in football infrastructure, and building a St. George's Park national football training base that can accommodate England's 28 teams of all ages.

On March 22, 2017, England coach Southgate (middle) led the team to train at St. George's Park.

reform will never be smooth sailing. In that year's vote, 22 of the 72 clubs in England's third-tier professional leagues voted against the EPPP. Although the EPPP will encourage top Premier League clubs to invest their superior resources into youth training, it will also harm the interests of small and medium-sized clubs. Before the 2012/2013 season, Hereford United and many other lower-level league clubs announced the closure of their youth training camps due to their inability to meet EPPP requirements. To this day, low-level youth training camps are still downgraded and closed down from time to time. The controversy of “only for elites and not taking into account traditions” has been accompanying the entire implementation process of EPPP. The

reform is still advancing amid controversy. After the work of reconstructing the youth training system and improving infrastructure is completed, "What kind of football should the England team play?" has become an urgent question that the Football Association needs to answer. In 2014, the Football Association released the youth training syllabus "England DNA", which completely abandoned the traditional long-passing style of English football, emphasized ball control and quick counterattacks, and focused on cultivating players' decision-making and technical abilities. According to requirements, all youth training coaches in England should coach according to the "England DNA" to form a unified football philosophy and playing style.

html On June 29, England player Sterling (right) competed with German player Hummels (left).

Southgate, who was the England U21 head coach at the time and was one of the main editors of "England DNA", said at the outline conference: "We don't want to stand here and say that this is a plan that will take five years to develop. Let's see what happens." He desperately wants change to happen immediately."If we can do it, England teams of all ages should be able to show competitiveness in the finals and semi-finals of the World Series."

In 2017, reporters went to St. George's Park for an interview. A British coach recalled to reporters that that was not An exciting launch. "This is tantamount to requiring many coaches to give up the training methods and concepts they rely on for success and learn new things from scratch." The most difficult thing to change is undoubtedly people's inertial thinking. The new youth training outline still faces many obstacles.

St. George's Park, built in 2012, has played a leading role as a national football training base. The Football Association has established a "Football Education Affairs Department" in the base, with a "Youth Coach Training Project" to train youth coaches across England. Nearly 14,000 coaches are trained every year. The Football Association requires that all certified coaches must participate in 16 hours of on-the-job training every three years to understand new football concepts. A consistent offensive football style from the England team to the lower-level youth training camps was gradually established. The results of the

reform began to appear in 2017. That year, England's youth teams at all levels won many heavyweight youth championships, including the U19 European Youth Championship, the U20 World Youth Championship, and the U17 World Youth Championship. By 2018, an England adult team with an average age of less than 26 years old went to the World Cup in Russia under the leadership of new head coach Southgate. The youngest England team in history reached the semi-finals, creating England's best World Cup record since 1990.

On July 14, 2018, England coach Southgate after the game. On the same day, in the third-place final of the 2018 Russia World Cup in St. Petersburg, the England team lost 0-2 to the Belgian team and ultimately finished fourth. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Jinbo

Football development is rooted in youth training and the league is based. When young talents continue to emerge, the high-level Premier League becomes the best training ground. Looking at England's current European Championship roster, it includes 21-year-old Foden, 22-year-old Mount, 21-year-old Sancho, 19-year-old Saka, 18-year-old Bellingham and many other top players. Technical players who have been trained in the league. The seeds Southgate planted back then are bearing fruit. This young but experienced England team entered the final with an almost overwhelming attitude.

In the 1996 European Championship semi-finals, at Wembley Stadium, Southgate, still a player, missed a key penalty kick. He recalled many years later that he did not want to hear the song "Three Lions" for a long time.

On July 11, 2021, the 2020 European Championship final is at Wembley Stadium again. Southgate and his soldiers have the opportunity to make the melody of "football comes home" the best footnote to the ten-year reform of English football.