IS THERE NOTHING GARY NEVILLE ISN’T AN EXPERT ON THESE DAYS?
He tells MPs Wembley sale is wrong ‘£70m a year is a pittance... it buys you a full back’ ‘It’s a short-term plan we’ll regret for ever’
GArY neVille told Parliament yesterday that the FA’s plans to sell Wembley are nonsense and warned against making a move that english football would regret for ever.
Speaking in Westminster, former england right back neville labelled the proposed £1billion deal a ‘short-term plan’ and expressed his fear that the money earmarked for grassroots investment would disappear in 15 years.
both the Government and Sport england have given their provisional support to the proposed sale to Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, with their backing hingeing on the increased investments that would be made in grass-roots facilities.
Yet an impassioned neville, appearing before the digital, Culture, media and Sport committee, likened the extra £70million a year, which the FA say would result from the sale, to the cost of a full back, and suggested it was a pittance in football terms.
‘i despair at the thought that the FA board and management are sitting there and thinking that they have to sell Wembley to fund grassroots football,’ neville said at the two-and-a-half-hour hearing. ‘They are talking about an extra £70m a year for 20 years — that’s a pittance in football, it’s a pittance in government... it’s the price of a full back.
‘The FA will have paid off the Wembley debt in a few years (by 2024). i think we could look back on this deal in 30 years’ time and wonder what we’ve done.
‘it is a short-term plan we’ll regret for ever. don’t sell Wembley — whatever you do, don’t sell Wembley.’
neville is urging the Government to intervene to find alternative funding mechanisms, such as a levy on agents’ fees or taking a cut of Premier league prize money. he also raised the possibility that if the FA were willing to sell Wembley to the likes of Khan, who is worth an estimated £ 5.5billion, then national football’s widely lauded base at St George’s Park could be next.
‘The FA are working with their hands tied behind their backs,’ he said. ‘The Government must intervene so we can protect grassroots football and explore some creative, innovative ways of doing this properly. Selling Wembley is the answer now, but what’s next? St George’s Park?
‘instinctively i would just worry about a multibillionaire knocking on my door and making an offer — what does he know that i don’t? i feel a bit uncomfortable about that.’
FA chief executive martin Glenn, who followed neville, fought back in light of the strong criticism. despite bizarrely admitting that he agreed with ‘95 per cent’ of what neville had said, he spent more than an hour trying to convince the committee of the benefits of a sale.
Glenn claimed the £ 600m windfall from the sale would be ‘transformational’ to grassroots football and said he considered a deal to be a ‘win-win’.
After admitting to having been shocked by the notion of selling Wembley initially, he said he had come to realise it was worthy of serious consideration.
‘We have a plan for investment and it’s a good plan, but if we can accelerate that, and make things happen much sooner, why wouldn’t we consider it?’ he said.
‘The unsolicited offer, which it was, was seen in the context of something which might accelerate what we do here.
‘it wasn’t on the agenda and everyone’s emotional reaction was the same, a little bit of surprise. but then when you think about it, most people think that if you could spend the money properly and you could get the protections and it still be the national stadium, it seems like a win-win.’
both sports minister Tracey Crouch and Sport england chairman nick bitel said they supported the investment plan but would insist on a number of caveats, including that the naming rights would not be sold.
Crouch said the legal protections were crucial to protecting the public interest.
The deal being considered includes a £600m offer for the stadium itself, with the FA retaining the hospitality arm Club Wembley, which they value at up to £350million.
Asked whether it represented good value, Glenn said: ‘ We are not selling the cash flow associated with the stadium. We are keeping the key cash flows. What we are selling is a stadium and a small amount of income that is currently enjoyed from pop concerts and non-football events.
‘When you take those revenues and the capital expenditure required to maintain the stadium, actually that ends up zero. So £600m for an asset that is currently generating zero is sort of the way to look at it.’
he explained that rothschild, who have been advising the FA, had assisted with modelling the upsides in revenue that Khan would realise if he were to buy the stadium and move his nFl franchise to london.
Khan is by no means guaranteed the stadium if a sale is considered viable. instead a formal sale process will be launched to seek out any additional bids.
Glenn added: ‘ We will be in a position very shortly when the drafting of a potential contract is done, where the protections are enshrined in english with clauses that everyone understands.
‘That can then be a prospectus we then take out to the world and say can anyone beat this £900m figure?’
last night, he insisted he was not concerned about potentially alienating Khan by inviting other offers and said the deal could still be completed this year.
responding to neville’s disparaging remarks, he said: ‘We believe this deal could be transformational for community facilities. This is why we are giving it due diligence.’
Khan, watching proceedings online from afar, said: ‘i enjoyed following the hearing today. The committee members and everyone who testified were well prepared and sincere in their responses. Our team looks forward to continuing the process.’