The FA Council will vote on the sale of Wembley Stadium at the end of October.GETTY IMAGES
The proposed sale of Wembley Stadium "cleared one hurdle and will now face its biggest obstacle next month," according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. FA execs want to sell the stadium to Premier League side Fulham Owner Shahid Khan for £600M ($785M) and "put the money into a trust fund for grassroots football schemes." The proposal was presented to the FA’s board members on Thursday, who agreed that it "should go to the 127-strong FA Council at the end of October." That will be the "ultimate test of whether the sale can go ahead, as the majority of council members are from the amateur game" -- representatives of the county FAs -- "many of whom have had reservations about selling off the national stadium." Even then, the proposal "will then have to return to the FA board for a final decision." One leading FA Council member who "promised to mount a campaign among other members to block the sale," but FA CEO Martin Glenn "at least has the chance now" to make his case (LONDON TIMES, 9/27). In London, Murad Ahmed reported a final vote will be made by the board following the council meeting, though Glenn and FA Chair Greg Clarke "have consistently maintained that they will heed strong objections across the governing body." According to people familiar with the talks, the deal reached between the FA and NFL Jacksonville Jaguars Owner Khan "includes many operational limitations" (FT, 9/27).
'A REAL FIGHT': In London, Tom Morgan reported one source close to the deal said, "Whatever happens in the board meeting, the FA has a real fight on its hands to convince its council. Several footballing authorities have already expressed serious concerns. I haven't heard anyone say they are keen." The source said that "local-level FA officials are concerned by the potential PR disaster of winning the grassroots money and then finding out they are unable to build the facilities." Plans to build 3G pitches and floodlights on council facilities "could take years as they wait for planning permission" (TELEGRAPH, 9/26).
