Thursday 27 September 2018 19:04, UK
The Football Association's board has unanimously backed the plan to sell Wembley Stadium to Fulham owner Shahid Khan.
The proposed deal, which is worth £600m in cash and £300m in future revenue from the stadium's hospitality business, will now go to the FA Council's next meeting on October 11.
In a statement, an FA spokesperson said: "The sale of Wembley Stadium, the negotiated protections and an outlined plan to invest £600m into football community facilities, were presented and discussed at the FA Board meeting.
"Following on from this discussion, the FA Board has agreed to take the presentation to the FA Council to get its input now that the full facts are known."
Prior to the crunch meeting, it had been widely reported the three representatives from the national game, or grassroots football, harboured reservations about the sale and the desired unanimity would be impossible, effectively killing the plan.
That did not come to pass, though, and the FA's leadership, which has pushed this idea for the past six months, will now be confident it can achieve majority support at the council.
The terms of the deal have already been approved with Khan, who wants to base his NFL team, the Jacksonville Jaguars at the stadium, and has been backed by the government, professional leagues and public bodies that invested in Wembley's rebuilding.
Shahid Khan issued a statement on Thursday evening, saying: "The news from today's FA Board meeting is welcomed and encouraging.
"I understand the discussion was open and thorough. One cannot ask for more as we continue to work through the process with the FA Board, FA Council, Sport England, the Mayor of London's office and DCMS towards reaching an agreement that will serve English football for generations to come.
"Today's development has no effect on my plans to renovate Craven Cottage and, as such, has no impact on Craven Cottage continuing to be the permanent home of Fulham Football Club."
