Pakistani-American billionaire Shahid Khan has pulled his offer of £600 million to buy Wembley Stadium, after concluding that the Football Association could not secure support among its members to sell the venue which is called England's “home of football.” Owner of Fulham football club and the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team, Khan has been in talks since April to acquire the stadium from the FA. Both the sides even agreed draft sale terms last month. However, it is reported now that Khan rescinded the offer after calculating that the FA would not gain sufficient support from its 10-member board and 127-member council to sign off on a deal.
It is said that in recent weeks, Khan's negotiating team became aware that a small minority of the board and a large number of council members would not support the deal, according to people familiar with the matter. Khan released a statement saying, “Unfortunately, given where we are today, I've concluded that the outcome of a vote next week would be far from sufficient in expressing the broad support favoured by the FA chairman to sell Wembley Stadium. Until a time when it is evident there is an unmistakable directive from the FA to explore and close a sale, I am respectfully withdrawing my offer to purchase Wembley Stadium.”
FA chief executive Martin Glenn said, “At a recent meeting with Mr Khan, he expressed to us that without stronger support from within the game, his offer is being seen as more divisive than it was anticipated to be and has decided to withdraw his proposal. Wembley Stadium is an iconic venue that is revered around world and it will continue to thrive under the ownership and direction of the FA.” A person close to the process said, “There is a reason why England has not won a World Cup since 1966 when decisions are made by a governing body that is organised like this. If there is a silver lining from the discussions, it is that there may be scope to reform the way the FA makes decisions.”
