FA set to keep control of England

FA Cup replay plan under threat

The Football Association has been reassured it will retain control of the England team after an independent review of the organisation is complete.

Lord Terry Burns, who is conducting the review, says he will not recommend that responsibility be given to the Premier League - as some clubs would wish.

Former QPR director Burns' six-month review will be finished in July.

"I won't consider whether the FA or the Premier League run the team. That's for the bodies concerned," he said.

Divisions between the richer and poorer clubs and the professional and amateur games have caused tensions in the organisation.

Last month the FA board decided to scrap FA Cup fifth and sixth round replays next season to give the England side a four week break before the World Cup.

However, this decision was overturned by the FA Cup committee only three days later.

"There is a feeling about some decisions that there isn't the clarity there might be about who is responsible," added Burns.

"We are dealing with a structure that has been in place for a long time and there is no doubt the world has moved on."