Wembley sale a step closer after FA board meeting

The £600m sale of Wembley Stadium to American billionaire Shahid Khan is a step closer after the Football Association’s board agreed to put the deal to the FA Council today.

Yahoo Sport revealed yesterday that the FA and Khan had agreed the terms of the proposed sale for a reported £600m. At the FA board meeting today, that deal has been rubber stamped and will now move to the FA Council to decide on the sale next month.

The council, which includes representatives of footballing bodies ranging from English counties to the Premier League, can still reject the deal and it is not yet guaranteed the sale will go through.

Khan, owner of Fulham and the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team, has been in talks to acquire the home of English football from the FA since April.

The sale makes perfect business sense for the FA. Aside from the sale price which England’s governing body promises will be ploughed into grassroots football, the FA will also keep hold of the stadium’s lucrative catering arm.

The FA will also hold onto the hospitality business which accounted for more than half of Wembley’s revenue of £104m in the year to July 2017. Reuters also report the body can also veto any sponsor and buy back the stadium for as little as £100m if it is downgraded as a host venue by European football’s governing body.

However, selling off what many see as ‘the home of football’ will be a tough sell to many.

One source close to the deal told Telegraph Sport yesterday: “Whatever happens in the board meeting, the FA has a real fight on its hands to convince its council. Several footballing authorities have already expressed serious concerns. I haven’t heard anyone say they are keen.”

The source said local-level FA officials are concerned by the potential PR disaster of winning the grassroots money and then finding out they are unable to build the facilities. Plans to build 3G pitches and floodlights on council facilities could take years as they wait for planning permission.

Some local-level FA officials are concerned by the potential PR disaster of winning the grassroots money and then finding out they are unable to build the facilities. Plans to build 3G pitches and floodlights on council facilities could also take years as they wait for planning permission.

For Khan the financial benefits of acquiring Wembley are hard to discern beyond owning a trophy asset, but it is almost certain he will use the stadium to stage NFL games in the future.