Tottenham and Wembley Stadium 'close' to Champions League deal, says Greg Dyke
Thursday 5 May 2016 19:33, UK
FA chairman Greg Dyke says Tottenham are 'quite close' to agreeing a deal to play Champions League matches at Wembley next season, adding he would welcome Spurs and Chelsea playing at England's national stadium.
Tottenham are looking to spend the 2017-18 campaign away from White Hart Lane as they redevelop the ground which will eventually reach a capacity large enough to host American Football games in the NFL.
Chelsea also have ambitions to increase the capacity of Stamford Bridge to 60,000, a redevelopment that would require them to play their home fixtures away from SW6 for three seasons.
Both clubs have indicated an interest in a temporary relocation to the national stadium and Dyke says it makes sense for all concerned.
Dyke said: "We're certainly in discussions with Spurs that they should come in for a full season when they're re-building their stadium. We're a long way down the path with reaching an agreement.
"We're in discussions about them playing their Champions League games there at Wembley next year but I don't know much about that. On the full season, I think we're quite close to a deal.
"I think Chelsea might come for a longer period because they have really exciting plans for Stamford Bridge and may demolish the whole thing and build a whole new stadium on the existing site and if they can that would mean them coming for three years.
"We thought we had a responsibility to English football, if we can fit them in. And of course we get some income out of it and that money we can use to support grassroots football but particularly to build more all-weather pitches, which is another thing I've been going on about for two or three years."
A statement on Tottenham's website confirmed that they are looking into playing their Champions league games away from White Hart Lane next season.
They also revealed that there will be a reduced capacity at the ground as construction work will impact the north end - meaning a reduction of around 4,000 seats.
The Tottenham Supporters' Trust have welcomed Dyke's comments, a spokesperson saying: "Tottenham fans' preferred option for the club's year away from White Hart Lane has overwhelmingly been Wembley.
"THST has campaigned publicly for Wembley for some time, so it's good to hear Greg Dyke say discussions are 'a long way down the path.' At the moment, nothing seems to be confirmed, but we hope fans will get some facts soon."
Dyke also believes the successes of both Leicester and Tottenham this season augurs well for the future of the England team.
He said: "If you look at the success of Tottenham and Leicester this season I think it demonstrates you can do well in the Premier League and still play a fair proportion of England players which is something that has been maybe lacking in recent years.
"I've only got a few months left as chairman but it is something I have pushed from the beginning, getting English players to be given a chance, and I think it is on the agenda now, so that is encouraging."
