Exclusive: Wembley sale will deliver just £46m a year for grassroots game

The proposed sale of Wembley would result in the Football Association investing just £46 million a year in the grass-roots game as the governing body plans to stagger payments over two decades, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

It had been thought amateur facilities across the country would be transformed within months of the potential £600 million purchase by billionaire Shahid Khan, but local spending powers will now be spread over 20 years if the deal is accepted, according to an FA blueprint seen by this newspaper.

Instead, football chiefs propose sending £46 million to the 47 county associations every year as part of an investment model to eventually generate £1.5 billion for the grass-roots game, provided projections prove right of an estimated annual interest rate of five per cent. Current baseline interest rates remain at 0.75 per cent.

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The yearly direct investment works out as less than £1 million per county per year, and while the FA claims that has been made clear to FA Council members, one representative from the amateur game said he felt “blindsided”, claiming regions were simply told they were in for a £71 million windfall each. Another county chief said the FA’s chief financial officer, Mark Burrows, had planted a “magic money tree” which had confused the grass-roots game about how much money they could expect.

A slideshow of documents sent to each county states how much each will receive in investment from the sale, but crucially does not specify a time limit.

However, the FA blueprint seen by this newspaper shows the promised £71 million for each region – totalling £3.3 billion across England – is based on FA accountants “assuming” high-interest returns over 20 years, combined with an extra £613 million of “matched funding” from Football Foundation grants and around £1.8 billion in existing grass-root funding plans.

“On average, £46 million invested per annum with the remainder earning interest,” the FA document says. “Over 20 years, this would result in £920 million available for investment by the Football Foundation assuming a five per cent rate of return.”

Financial consultant Robert Leach, a chartered accountant who has lectured for the HM Revenue and Customs, said the figures were a “gamble”. “Frankly, any business that predicts that it will be earning five per cent every year over the next 20 years is just guesswork,” he added. “The projection is an aspiration. It cannot be anything more. Long-term forecasts are dangerous territory.”

An FA councillor added: “It is rather misleading.” A leading amateur football figure said: “The figure just didn’t seem to add up. Council members are extremely sceptical about the total sums of money that were being projected.”

The true detail of the plan comes after Burrows told the Wembley summit on Thursday that each region could expect 330 improved grass pitches and 31 new changing pavilions.

Burrows was said to have faced a series of questions from the governing body’s 127-member council after claiming the deal with Fulham owner Khan would triple in value. One councillor sparked laughter during Thursday’s Wembley meeting by asking the executive if it might suggest where he could get such a generous return on his investments.

The FA’s promotion literature sent to council chiefs said payments “would leave a local legacy across all of England”, eventually worth an “unprecedented extra £1.5 billion of investment over 20 years”.

If the deal is accepted, all the proceeds will be handled by the Football Foundation, which channels all funding from the Premier League, the FA and Sport England into the grass-roots game.

An FA source said councillors were given all the details and that the investment plan had been “thoroughly thought through”. But Gary Neville, the former England defender, tweeted “numbers are bizarre... Who are they banking/investing with?”

The council – which includes representatives of the Premier League, Football League and county FAs – has no powers to formally stop the deal, but will vote on whether it agrees with a sale on Oct 24.

Martin Glenn, the FA’s chief executive, and FA chairman Greg Clarke are understood to want a clear mandate of more than 60 per cent from the Council.

During the meeting, the council asked FA executives whether the deal could be blocked over disputed claims of “systemic corruption” in relation to the offer. Craig Kline, a former assistant director of football at Fulham, sent his records of contact with the FA to outline his claims.

Khan, who has been in talks to acquire the home of English football for NFL games since April, has agreed an outline deal for operational limitations, including that no sponsor can gain “title” rights, such as renaming the stadium or adding a corporate brand alongside that of Wembley. The deal has the backing of the Government via Sport England.