Wembley Stadium sale a step closer after FA board meeting

The FA board discussed the bid at their meeting this morning and agreed to it in principle, deciding to submit the matter to the FA Council, the next step that it has to clear

Wembley could be sold to Fulham FC owner Shahid Khan (Getty)

The Football Association’s sale of Wembley has moved one step closer today as the FA board approved the £600m sale of the stadium to Fulham FC owner Shahid Khan.

The FA board discussed the bid at their meeting this morning and agreed to it in principle, deciding to submit the matter to the FA Council, the next step that it has to clear. While the process is not complete yet, today’s meeting represents the biggest hurdle yet that Khan’s bid has had to clear, paving the way for both foreign ownership of the national stadium and a windfall for the English game.

“The sale of Wembley Stadium, the negotiated protections and an outlined plan to invest £600m into football community facilities, were presented and discussed at The FA Board meeting today,” said an FA spokesperson. “Following on from this discussion, The FA Board has agreed to take the presentation to The FA Council to get its input now that the full facts are known.”

FA chief executive Martin Glenn was confident of persuading the rest of the board today to accept the offer, which would take the expensive running costs of Wembley off the FA’s hands, as well as providing a windfall to invest in grassroots football in England. The Football Foundation have been preparing a major investment programme with their share of the proceeds from the £600m sale.

But Glenn still had to convince the national game representatives on the FA board that it was the right move for the English game. And, along with FA chairman Gregg Clarke, he wanted unanimous approval from the board today. Now the next step is to get approval from the council.

Under the plans, Wembley will host Khan’s Jacksonville Jaguars’ London games, while England are set to play their autumn internationals at other stadiums around the country. But Wembley will continue to be the host of the FA’s biggest games, including England’s biggest games, and the FA Cup final, one of the “protections” the FA has sought from Khan.