PRICE NOT RIGHT FOR ENGLAND HERITAGE
THE Football Association must know something the rest of us do not.
Maybe they have insider information about an imminent sudden collapse in the London property market. Perhaps they are in serious danger of going bankrupt after years of relentless mismanagement.
Admittedly, that is easier to envisage. Yet, surely, even the guardians of our beautiful game can make enough dosh to survive when the global football business is booming to the tune of billions.
Crikey, they charge enough for tickets at showpiece events and, with Tottenham as temporary tenants at Wembley this season, they stage a similar number of matches over the year to any of the loaded Premier League clubs. Then there are those NFL weekends, rugby games – union and league – and sold-out summer gigs.
Last year it was The Stone Roses. This summer it is Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift.
In fact, when you think about it the national stadium – rebuilt between 2000 and 2007 for an eye-watering £800million – must be a nice little earner.
So what do chief executive Martin Glenn (top left) and chairman Greg Clarke (bottom left), the bigwigs in ‘control’ of policy inside the FA, decide is the next best step for the English game?
Raise £800m by selling the most iconic football arena on the planet to Fulham’s billionaire owner Shahid Khan. Of course! How stupid not to think of it ourselves!
Yep, Glenn and Clarke are contemplating cashing in the family silver, pimping the crown jewel that sets the English game apart from the rest.
It may defy belief and logic but the pair are ready to relinquish FA ownership of Wembley.
No wonder there is already a whiff of rebellion. Outraged individuals – from ex-England heroes on the pitch to powerful FA councillors off it – have been lining up to attack the ‘scandalous’ proposal.
There is even talk of a vote of no confidence in Clarke and Co. Hallelujah! It makes no business sense to sell now. Given property prices in the capital, Wembley could be worth £1billion by August. In five years, that could double.
And even if it was wise to do a deal with Khan, who is kindly promising the Three Lions can still play at Wembley amid plans to turn it into the home of his NFL outfit Jacksonville Jaguars, do we want the current crop at the top of the FA to be in charge of the money?
There is a fear that being so flush, they will spend, spend, spend until the money runs out.
What then? Sell the England national team to the highest bidder? I imagine football-loopy Qatar would be extremely interested.