Football Association willing to accept £800M bid for Wembley Stadium

***UPDATE***: Surprise! The Football Association has announced that the offer presented by Shahid Khan ('a very credible offer and was given very serious consideration') was withdrawn, thus putting an end to the negotiation that was born months ago concerning the sale of the historic English stadium. As written in the official statement, it's noted that Khan believed that his bid for the Wembley purchase would free funds to help improve the community football facilities in England and that it would be well received by all football stakeholders, but in a recent meeting mr Khan himself had expressed that, without a stronger support within the game, his offer his offer is being seen as more divisive than it was anticipated to be and has decided to withdraw his proposal.

The news echoed in a few hours from England all over the world: the Football Association, owner of Wembley stadium, has received an irrefutable proposal for the sale of the biggest British sports venue. The price? About £ 800 million. The bidder? The Pakistani entrepreneur Shahid Khan, the current owner of Fulham, but above all of the American franchise of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.

The offer is currently being examined by the FA board and by the sports department of the British government: first of all, they are thinking about how the sale money could be reinvested (firstly, upgrading the facilities to build a winning cycle, starting from the youngsters, renovating the coaches and educators staff). Another question to be resolved concerns the scheduling of the National football team matches, which as we know plays his home matches at Wembley, and also FA Cup's semifinals and finals, whose are held continuously in 'the home of football' since 1923 (except for a 6-years break). If Khan in his statement appeared on the Fulham's official website has confirmed that 'Wembley will always remain the home of the English National', it's sure that England will have to move quickly, without currently having a reserve option. The privatization project also indirectly concerns Tottenham but especially Chelsea: Spurs will soon leave Wembley to return to the new White Hart Lane, in the process of rebuilding, while Chelsea had already thought about moving temporarily to Wembley during the future renovation works of the new Stamford Bridge.

Khan's plan would be to use Wembley for Jaguars home matches, which since 2013 already play a match each year in England and which would extend their international market. American football, therefore, would find even more space in London after the statement to use the new White Hart Lane for at least two seasonal NFL matches. Fulham fans, however, can sleep peacefully: Khan, who is currently the 217th richest man in the world according to Forbes rich list, has confirmed that 'none of this will have any effect on my commitment to your Club', which is currently fighting for the promotion in the Premier League (Cottagers are third in the standings, just one point ahead of Cardiff City, two games from the end of the regular season) and that has already planned to expand the historic Craven Cottage redeveloping the Riverside Stand.