FA welcomes back the 'pinnacle of football'

Chairman David Bernstein is looking forward to a "great year" as the English Football Association (FA) marks its 150th anniversary.

The FA got its celebrations under way with a gala event in London last month, which featured a congratulatory message from UEFA President Michel Platini. That was just the start, however, with plenty more to come including the second UEFA Champions League final at Wembley in just three seasons.

"There's a whole series of events, and of course one of the major events is the Champions League final here and the UEFA Congress," said Bernstein. "They're coming in the middle of the year, in May, and we're looking forward to those. There'll be a gala dinner later in the year, but there's a whole series of events right through the year and it should be a great year one way or another."

Wembley has the honour of being the first stadium to be awarded Europe's biggest club fixture twice in such a short space of time, following the FC Barcelona v Manchester United FC final of 2011. Mr Platini said UEFA felt "it was their duty" to help the FA celebrate its milestone birthday and Bernstein is grateful for such a gift.

"The Champions League final is one of the pinnacles of football," he said. "I think, without undue modesty, Wembley did a really good job last time – it was a superb event for the stadium. It was a great occasion, and I think the effect of that, of course, is that it spun down through the whole game, as always with these things.

"Great matches and great players are always great role models for football at large. I think it was a great thing for Wembley, and a great thing in a sense for bringing UEFA and English football closer together, which is what we want."

For more from David Bernstein's interview with UEFA.com, view the video above.