Monday, September 19, 2005

The FA, the English Nationalist and a dodgy survey

Dear FA,
After the amazing success of the England cricket team - and the fantastic unifying effect that the singing of 'JERUSALEM' had with the crowds, don't you think it's about time that the FA joined this patriotic bandwagon and adopted "Jerusalem' as our national football anthem?

God Save the Queen is NOT an English anthem - it's the UK one.... so why on earth sing it? Let's have something uplifting, relevant to the country of England and is stirringly patriotic. 'JERUSALEM' ticks all those boxes, don't you agree?

Come on the FA - time to adopt 'Jerusalem' as OUR National Anthem.
CAN YOU PLEASE GET BACK TO ME WITH A RESPONSE TO MY QUERY - THANKS.


Dear Aitch,
Thank you for contacting The Football Association.

'God save the Queen' is the national anthem for the UK. Compared to other home nations, England does lack a sporting anthem; but this is not isolated to football, as the same situation also exists in many other sports, for example rugby.

The Football Association has done research on this subject, finding that while many fans want an English anthem, others do not. Football would be the perfect starting point for what is certainly a laudable initiative. The problem lies with the selection, ownership and familiarity of a new anthem.

During the world cup The Football Association carried out a web forum where fans could air their views on various FA/England matters. One of the questions that was mentioned was The England Team National Anthem where the results where(sic) as follows:

God Save the Queen - For 205-48 Against
Land of Hope and Glory - For 100 -34 Against
Jerusalem - For 49 -14 Against
Rule Britannia - For 27-7 Against
Another - For 13-5 Against
A specific England Football team anthem - For 10 -8 Against
None at all - For 7-0 Against

Kind regards,

Meg Hewitt
Customer Relations
The Football Association
TheFA.com

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