AS property owners, the FA haven’t much of a record and their reputation could take a turn for the even worse if they sell Wembley.
It isn’t that I disagree with the actual sale, because I don’t.
Fulham owner Shahid Khan is set to complete £600million takeover of WembleyBut this is provided they do what they claim they will with the £600million profit from the sale of the national football stadium — improve the quality and stock of pitches at grassroots level.
Excuse my cynicism, but I’ll believe that when we see the detail of their spending. On past form, the FA’s record of wasting money qualifies them for my Sepp Blatter Extravagance Trophy.
Comfy in their Lancaster Gate HQ, they went to posh Soho Square before doing a daylight flit at a cost of £17m and landing, where else? Wembley.
Now there is a worrying buzz the 330-acre FA national centre at Burton-on-Trent is under-used. No wonder, when even the England squad tends to train at Spurs’ state-of-the-art facilities.
You may remember the fury when FA bosses fought off plans for an athletics track at the new Wembley.
Originally, the idea was that it would then host an Olympics, consequently qualifying for a whopping grant.
There are people in Birmingham who believe they were two-timed by the FA when Wembley went ahead without the track but with the grant.
This led to the fateful decision to build the 2012 Olympic Stadium at Stratford without a post-Games tenancy.
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Eventually West Ham benefited but the full cost of the London Stadium stretches to no less than £2bn, generated by the original FA decision to renege on their Olympic promise.
The FA say they will guard their rights at Wembley.
Likely buyer, Shahid Khan, a billionaire in car parts, has proved a capable owner of Fulham and his background in the NFL is some assurance he will value Wembley’s traditions.
Already he has made it clear that eventually it could be the British home of his Jacksonville Jaguars franchise.
England will still play there and at other grounds, although the FA have refused to let this happen. Now, with a Tom Daley somersault, they say they can.
Khan has yet to reveal his blueprint and I suspect FA Cup semi-finals, various play-off finals and the Community Shield could be looking for new venues.
I promise this, though. Should England wish to play in the London Stadium, they would be very welcome.
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