Bradford blame FA for cash crisis

Gordon Gibb, the Bradford City chairman, has accused the Football Association of snubbing struggling Nationwide sides in their attempts to build a new Wembley Stadium.

The Bantams were expecting a slice of the £500,000 FA hardship fund backed by the Government and the Premiership, but Gibb said the Valley Parade side have yet to receive confirmation or payment from Soho Square.

Gibb believes that part of the reason is the FA's commitment to building the new Wembley stadium, which is estimated to cost £757m.

He is adamant the new venue will not break even – and said that if the FA scaled down their plans, the money saved could go towards solving the current financial plight of clubs in the Football League.

"When you read about the luxurious plans for a new national stadium, you feel the priorities at that particular level are all wrong," he said. "The definitive amount the Football League clubs are waiting for is a relatively small percentage of the money we are talking about in terms of the national stadium.

"I did some rough calculations and all they need to do is trim two rows of seats off the top tier. The money saved would be enough to immediately solve the financial crisis the Football League is experiencing."

The Football Association responded by saying that Gibb's comments are unfounded and believe a new Wembley will be "an investment" that Football League clubs will eventually profit from.

The FA maintain that their commitment to Nationwide League clubs is higher than ever before and that they would not be embarking on the Wembley project if they were not confident of making money from it.

An FA spokesman, Nick Barron, said: "We don't feel the new Wembley development will fail – we wouldn't be doing it if we did. We are not just an independent body and the new Wembley proposals have had the backing of the Government, the Football League and the Premier League.

"We have a solid business plan and this development will be an investment for football at every level, down to the grass roots in this country."