England Manager Gareth Southgate has been on a "fact-finding mission" with the help of the NFL to get tips from American football on "how to reduce the pressure on England's players during leading tournaments," according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. Southgate traveled to the U.S. with FA Technical Dir Dan Ashworth and FA CEO Martin Glenn, where they visited the NFL Seattle Seahawks and England's kit sponsor, Nike, and also attended the Super Bowl. One of the "key objectives" for England and FA staff is "learning how to improve the set-up and atmosphere at England's base for next year's World Cup in Russia," and Southgate has been "looking at the experience of several different sports" including rugby union, hockey and American football. Southgate met team officials from the Seahawks and it is understood that he was "impressed by NFL teams' open approach to the media." He and team staff view the "us and them" relationship between players and media as a "source of stress for the squad." A "more open and less formal arrangement will now be explored," where players are not "under pressure to deliver a particular message" (LONDON TIMES, 2/11).
