FA agree to sell Wembley for £600m ahead of crunch vote but ‘buy-back’ clause to be included
Fulham owner Shahid Khan hopes to seal deal to take control of national stadium but agreement still needs to be ratified by unanimous vote of FA board and there is set to be a 'buy-back' clause
THE Football Association has agreed a deal in principle to sell Wembley Stadium for £600million, it has been claimed - but it will include a buy-back clause if the ground is not kept up to scratch.
American billionaire Shahid Khan is attempting to take control at the national stadium in a bid to boost his hopes of establishing an NFL franchise in Britain.
And those takeover dreams have moved a step closer with the reporting the FA have settled on a deal in principle to complete the sale.
The development comes just a day before a crunch vote of the FA board at Wembley which could ratify the terms of the agreement.
The ten-man group will meet tomorrow where chief executive Martin Glenn and chairman Greg Clarke will present the proposals in full.
But only if the board gives a unanimous vote in favour will the sale go through.
Negotiations have been taking place for the past six months after Fulham owner Khan offered £600m to buy Wembley, with a further £300m promised in future revenues.
When it was revealed they were even considering a sale, the FA were criticised for entertaining the idea.
But they insist it is the ideal way to raise funds to invest into grass roots facilities across the country which have seen years of poor investment.
Yet in agreeing to the sale, they have driven a hard bargain to ensure the future of football is protected at Wembley with Khan keen to utilise the venue for his Jacksonville Jaguars franchise.
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It is claimed the biggest of those is the FA securing rights to buy back Wembley for just £100m if it is stripped of its elite status by Uefa.
The Government have also kept a close eye on things, with demands that the name of the stadium can never be sold off in a commercial sponsorship deal.
There has been an insistence that matches such as the FA Cup final will always be staged at the ground in future years.
Though some England matches will be staged there, the FA are also keen to take the national team on the road for matches to ensure supporters across the country get the chance to watch the Three Lions in action.
Those games are likely to be played over the autumn, when Khan hopes to ensure Wembley is clear to host regular season NFL matches.