Wayne Rooney will conclude his England career against the U.S. on Nov. 15.GETTY IMAGES
The FA "defended its policy of not passing on any gate receipts" from Wayne Rooney's final England appearance to his foundation, "even though the fixture is named after his charity," according to Jason Burt of the London TELEGRAPH. The FA said that it did not share gate receipts for previous games named after charities -- "although, actually, it has made donations." At present, it is not planning to make a donation to the Wayne Rooney Foundation, "but it may now come under pressure to do so." In '15, the FA announced it was giving £75,000 to Breast Cancer Care for the "Breast Cancer Care International" between England and France. The relationship between that charity and the FA, however, was longstanding and there were a number of fundraising events. An FA spokesperson said, "The FA is a not-for-profit organization which invests millions of pounds back into the grassroots game on an annual basis. The proceeds from the England vs. USA [game] will go back into the English game." Rooney is expected to play for the final few minutes of the match on Nov. 15, but he will not wear the No. 10 shirt (TELEGRAPH, 11/6). The PA reported it is understood the FA will "support the foundation through fan collections, silent auctions in hospitality suites and by promoting awareness of the causes Rooney's charity is raising funds for." Conversations as to the final arrangements "are continuing but the approach will be similar to other charitable friendly matches" (PA, 11/6). In London, Dominic Fifield reported England's players "were not consulted by Gareth Southgate" over the plan to offer Rooney a farewell appearance for the team, with the manager "still considering which shirt to allocate the forward." England's record goalscorer will be an additional selection "on top of the squad Southgate would normally have selected and will announce on Thursday." Raheem Sterling is currently England's No. 10 (GUARDIAN, 11/6).
CHANGE OF PLANS: In London, Hughes & Ziegler reported Rooney originally requested England's World Cup warmup game against Nigeria at Wembley "as his tribute game." The FA rejected that proposal from Rooney's representatives on the grounds that it did not want to "disrupt England's World Cup preparations," while Southgate "was also unwilling to add an extra player to his squad" who would not be traveling to Russia. Southgate is fully supportive of Rooney's brief int'l return "at this time." As a former England int'l, Southgate believes the FA "should do more" to recognize the achievements of England players. He "has invited several stars from previous generations such as Glenn Hoddle to speak to the current squad" (LONDON TIMES, 11/6).
