The government and Sport England have supported in principle the Football Association’s proposal to sell Wembley Stadium if it releases £600m for grassroots facilities, according to sources close to the discussions.
Matthew Hancock, the minister for digital, culture, media and sport, echoed prime minister Theresa May’s immediate reaction that the FA should take supporters’ views into account, but has not rejected the idea of Wembley being sold to the Fulham and NFL team owner, Shahid Khan. While emphasising that reassurances must be given to secure English football at Wembley “for generations,” Hancock supported the idea that a sale could benefit the grassroots game.
“I look forward to hearing more details about how any deal would help the development of the game in this country, and how it could help England succeed on the pitch at the highest level,” Hancock said in a statement.
Sport England, which awarded a £120m lottery grant to fund the FA’s purchase of the old Wembley in 1999 from its previous corporate owners has not yet stated a position, but a source said the agency also supports the prospect of a sale in principle. Sport England could waive repayment of its grant if the FA guarantees that the money will be invested in public facilities and increasing participation, which is Sport England’s core purpose.
If Khan, who will secure the option of basing his NFL team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, at Wembley, does proceed with the mooted £600m purchase, suggestions are that the money would be invested and the proceeds used to build a new generation of artificial grass pitches. The FA chairman, Greg Clarke, wrote in his letter to the FA council explaining the discussions that only one in three grass pitches nationally are adequate.
Several people originally involved in the project to construct the new Wembley oppose the sale in principle. Richard Caborn, the Labour sports minister at the time, told the Guardian that the grant from Sport England and £20m from the government were advanced on the assurance that Wembley would be “a national stadium for the national sport”. He argues that is not compatible with selling Wembley to Khan, and that football has enough money already to properly fund grassroots facilities.
“I am not against what the FA is trying to do but you don’t need to sell the family silver,” Caborn said. “With the money in the Premier League they should be giving a lot more to the grassroots, and the FA should as well, with the money from selling TV rights to the England team’s matches. They could also be more imaginative about releasing more funds from Wembley.”
The Premier League currently contributes £24m annually to the Football Foundation for grassroots facilities, which is matched by the FA and government. Overall the Premier League contributes £100m to facilities and school and social inclusion projects, 3.6% of its £2.8bn annual TV deal. There is no prospect of its 20 member clubs offering to pay more, while the government has cut billions from the funding to local authorities which manage most public sports facilities.
