A KICK IN THE
FURY AS YANKS BUY WEMBLEY
ENGLAND football fans were furious last night as the FA closed in on a deal to sell off iconic Wembley Stadium to a US billionaire.
The 90,000-seater national stadium could even be re-named after a giant American sponsor such as Google or McDonald’s, it is feared.
FA BOSSES were last night accused of ripping the soul out of English football by agreeing to sell Wembley Stadium.
Fans are furious over plans that could mean the home of our national team turning into the headquarters of NFL.
The FA is in talks to flog the ground to US mogul Shahid Khan – owner of Fulham and American football team the Jacksonville Jaguars – for around £1billion.
It could mean the England team are forced to play home games away from the stadium due to clashes with the NFL season. But the move has not gone down well with fans or former players.
Ex-QPR player Rodney Marsh tweeted: “If Wembley is sold it will no longer be Wembley Stadium. It will become The Google Sports Arena.”
Shadow International Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner said: “Wembley Stadium is not just at the heart of our borough of Brent, it’s at the heart of Britain.”
The 90,000-seater ground, which cost £798million to build, was completed in 2007 to replace the original Wembley Stadium, which was built in 1923 and hosted more than 70 FA Cup finals, as well as England’s World Cup triumph in 1966.
Mr Khan plans to move his NFL franchise to Wembley where it would become the first outside the US.
He would also take all the money from the hosting of concerts and conferences held at the stadium.
FA bosses say they would plough £500m into grass roots projects.
An FA spokesman said: “We can confirm that the FA has received an offer to buy Wembley Stadium.”
THE disgraceful deal to sell Wembley to an American billionaire just doesn’t wash.
Fulham owner Shahid Khan has tabled a reported £1billion bid for the home of English football.
FA bosses claim the offer is a “oncein-a-lifetime” chance to reinvest the money in grassroots football.
But surely that figure is just a drop in the ocean in football terms.
It was only 10 years ago they found almost the same amount of money – £830million – to rebuild the national stadium.
And don’t forget, the English game commands billions of pounds a year in telly rights.
So what is the point of flogging off a treasured part of our national identity for a quick buck?
It could also harm the Three Lions’ chances in future. The team will be forced on the road to make way for Khan’s NFL franchise in the winter.
This would mean we were effectively lodgers at the site of our greatest sporting triumph – the 1966 World Cup.
Fans are understandably fuming and, you would imagine, will protest. They are right.
The whole deal smacks of shortterm thinking and greed.