Official England media release lets slip 26 man squad reference | OneFootball

Gareth Southgate met up with 120 members of the England Supporters Travel Club on Monday.

This ‘fans forum’ event was held at St James’ Park, with England set to play a friendly at SJP against Bosnia & Herzegovina on 3 June.

With then the England squad heading off to Germany following the second and final Euros warm up against Iceland at Wembley on 7 June.

Now on Wednesday (1 May), The FA have put out an official media release about the Gareth Southgate event at St James’ Park two days ago.

Included in the official release it states: ‘Gareth touched on a variety of topics, including how fortunate he is to have a wide pool of talented players to select his chosen 26-man squad from, whilst also sharing the challenges that come with such a role.’

Whilst there has been a lot of media speculation that there will indeed be a ’26 man-squad’ allowed now for each country at the European Championships, three more than the originally intended 23-man squads. There has been no official confirmation that this will be the case.

A UEFA committee has recommended that 26-man squads be allowed but this release from The FA appears to have inadvertently shown that those inside the England camp and The FA have been informed that this is happening for sure.

A lot of players on the fringes of the various national squads will have been taking a keen interest in the possibility of larger squads allowed, including a number of Newcastle United players, especially where the England squad is concerned.

The official England media release – 1 May 2024:

Gareth Southgate was the star of the show as we welcomed 120 ESTC members to St James’ Park, for our UEFA EURO 2024 Fan Forum, ahead of this summer’s tournament in Germany.

The event kicked off with our host, Pete Graves, introducing our first panel, consisting of Steve Lewis (England Team Security Manager), Mark Roberts (Chief Constable, National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for football policing), Richard Weekes (Membership and Operations manager, ESTC), and Thomas Concannon (Premier League Network Manager, FSA).

Key EURO-related topics were covered such as advice on travelling to Germany, fan engagement activities, our ticketing processes, safety and security advice and current plans to ensure members have the best experience ahead of the tournament.

Pete then introduced England manager Gareth Southgate and former England and Newcastle United defender Steve Howey to the stage.

Ahead of Gareth’s arrival, he had taken time out to acknowledge the legacy of former England manager Sir Bobby Robson with a visit to Freeman Hospital. You can read more on that here.

Gareth touched on a variety of topics, including how fortunate he is to have a wide pool of talented players to select his chosen 26-man squad from, whilst also sharing the challenges that come with such a role. He shared his thoughts on the importance of having a like-minded team of staff around the squad and how giving fans a trophy to celebrate is at the forefront of each player and staff member’s ambitions.

Our national men’s team manager then went on to answer a range of questions from England Supporters Travel Club members.

Howey also shared his experiences as an England player; what it’s like to be part of an England camp, how it felt being introduced to players that he idolised growing up, and what it was like to share the pitch with Southgate. Steve mentioned it was an absolute privilege to play for the Three Lions.

This lead to a touching moment within the evening, whereby Southgate presented Howey with his Legacy Cap, No 1058.

The evening ended with a signing session with Gareth, who stayed for over an hour to take photos and talk with every supporter who attended.

We would like to thank Newcastle United staff for their hospitality, all those involved in the planning of the event, members of the panel and working behind the scenes, and most importantly, the ESTC members who made the time and efforts to attend the event.