FA chief Glenn says UK government agrees with ‘concept’ of Wembley sale

FA chief executive Martin Glenn has revealed that the government is “supportive conceptually” of his plan to sell Wembley to raise money for grassroots facilities.

Fulham owner Shahid Khan remains the only bidder for the stadium and he has offered £600 million in cash and is willing to let the FA retain its Club Wembley hospitality business, which is worth an estimated £300m.

Khan’s plan is to use the stadium as the base for his relocated National Football League team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and lease it to the FA, English Football League, National League and Rugby Football League for the games they stage at the venue.

The plan, however, has divided opinion within the game, with some seeing it as a oncein-a-lifetime chance to tackle English football’s deteriorating community facilities, and others as a betrayal of the national game’s traditions.

At a Westminster select committee hearing last month, the FA boss was flanked by English sports minister Tracey Crouch and Nick Bitel, chairman of grassroots funding agency Sport England, as he explained to MPS why Khan’s offer makes sense.

Speaking to reporters at Wembley this week, Glenn said this apparent show of unity was not an illusion. He said: “I wouldn’t have taken (the offer) to the FA board had I not been comfortable that Tracey Crouch and (the then secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport) Matt Hancock weren’t supportive conceptually.

“Tracey sees the merits of it. If there was a chance to get hold of a significant amount of money and ring-fence it for community football, it’s hard to say no to it. So on that aspect they see it.”

Glenn said the sale also fits with government policy to attract new sports events and teams, and said the chance to “get more NFL games” to Wembley is “good for the economy”, particularly as NFL games sell out and bring in lots of fans from outside London.

Influential figures in football remain unconvinced, though, with ex-england and Manchester United star Gary Neville representing that view to the select committee. Former United chief executive and FA vice-chairman David Gill is in this camp, too. Gill left the FA board last year but is still a Fifa vice-president and member of Uefa’s executive committee.