Cypriot football was used as an example to avoid, as an FA commission discussed the participation of English footballers in the top flight, according to the Daily Mirror.
The number of Cypriot players in top flight teams is particularly low; there were times where no Cypriot was playing for at least one of the two sides during a game.
This ultimately affects the performance of the national team, which had seen some success in past years but has been sliding of late as older stars retire and younger players do not get any chances to advance.
Cyprus came up when Danny Mills, a former England international asked what would happen “if we do nothing and numbers dwindle and we end up with an England team picked from the second and third tier of English football?”
“Cyprus,” was the reply from two-time former England caretaker boss Howard Wilkinson.
Mills added: “Where’s the inspiration for kids? The highest ambition of every kid is to play in the World Cup. But if your team has not got any chance of even qualifying, how do you think that’s going to affect kids’ aspirations?”
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