By Andrew McKenzie

Barwick believes the new Wembley will be the best stadium in the world

Football Association chief executive Brian Barwick is one of the most powerful men in English football.

Since he came into the job in January 2005 he has overseen some of the biggest changes in the association's 143-year history, the appointment of a new England coach as well as the finishing stages of a new Wembley Stadium.

Here is his take on the burning issues facing football's governing body.

I'm a big fan of the Premier League and the Football League has come back really strongly under Lord Mawhinney, but I do think there is a genuine place for the FA Cup.

I see it as a punctuation mark in the season.

I think the final in May was one of the most remarkable cup finals in its history.

I think it has come back very strongly. It went through a period where it was fighting for its place - not its life - in the football calendar, but it's restored that now.

We had two big semi-finals, some great quarter-finals and then there was Burton against Manchester United.

That is serious stuff. England played Sweden in the World Cup and 21m people watched it on TV - and that doesn't include the ones in the pub watching it.

Nothing does this sort of business on TV any more. Coronation Street doesn't, Eastenders doesn't. Only unique live sporting assets can deliver this.

England playing football in a major trophy takes it into a different sphere.

We went into this summer feeling really good about ourselves. We had a strong set-up and we went out on penalties in the quarter-finals.

For some countries that would register as a success but we know for our country it doesn't.

We are ranked fourth in the world. We certainly win more than lose and when it comes to tournaments we do punch our weight invariably and then as it has happened in the last three we trip up at the quarter-final stage.

He has settled into the job really well. The last couple of results were disappointing for everyone but he's settled, he's a very bright man.

I think we shouldn't dwell too long on the recruitment of the England manager - we have one, he's embedded in the job, he's finding out about the job and I support him absolutely and totally.

We were accused of being sluggish and tortuous and yet we were recruiting a very significant, serious, senior position in our industry.

It took nine weeks and in other industries that would be considered reckless so you can't win, you just have to get on with it.

This is going to be the best stadium in the world without a shadow of a doubt.

I guarantee this country will be incredibly proud of that stadium when it opens

We took the Brazilian federation around there last week and they were absolutely gob-smacked.

This is a stadium that will host football, rugby league and music concerts for the next 50 or 60 years and we should be proud of it.

I was flying over London last week and we went over Wembley. The person next to me and the two people in front of me and the two behind me could have picked any landmark in London but they all mentioned Wembley.

We accept there has been a journey but I'm incredibly proud of that stadium and I guarantee this country will be incredibly proud of that stadium when it opens and plays host to some great football matches.

If that is the year when it comes back to Europe we're going to go for it.

We don't have to decide now how we go about it but we have to learn from lessons of when we didn't get these things and learn from lessons when we did - such as the Olympics.

I think Lord Coe was very clever, a brilliant guy and a really huge contributory factor - as was the playing of the major officials at the right time.

Maybe 2006 wasn't our time but if 2018 comes through Europe then we have to be interested.

We have massive and great stadiums - there is even a theory Wembley will be finished by then!

That's our intention. We'll have to see how it's going to be made up in terms of nationalities.

We believe there are enough reassurances from Fifa to make losing our identity a non-issue, I don't see it from a Celtic point of view I see it from an England view and we would like to put out a British side.

When I travel the world and go to functions there are 205 nameplates. Everyone else's nameplate says the something football association. We are called THE Football Association.

I think it's something that's very important and very significant and something we should never forget.

We gave the game to the world and its about time we gained a little back here or there!

The Burns report is a result of an internal structure review to look at the decision-making process at the FA.

We are 143 years old and we need to understand how to live in the industry we are in.

The objectives are not about the 20 Premier League clubs but the 37,000 clubs.

The Burns review was to try to make us fit for purpose to go forward.

It was challenging for some people who don't see what is wrong with the place.

There were some genuinely conservative views in there but they were from good people who'd given their lives to the game and who had probably never taken a dollar out of it.

My own view is you have to have an association that reflects the world we live in rather than the world we lived in.