‘I thought it was a joke’ – Ken Bates blasts Wembley sale and calls for fan demonstrations against FA

Ken Bates has blasted the FA’s decision to consider the sale of Wembley Stadium to Shahid Khan, the Fulham and Jacksonville Jaguars owner.

It was revealed on Thursday that Khan has made an offer to purchase England’s national stadium, and the sale could go through in as little as eight weeks.

The fee is reported to be around £900m, with Khan paying two thirds of that and the rest coming from Club Wembley hospitality packages, which the FA will continue to run.

Bates, the first Wembley chairman from 1997 to 2001 - and former owner of both Chelsea and Leeds United - has blasted the FA for even considering the sale of the ‘Home of Football’, considering they are not a commercial institution.

Speaking to Jim White on talkSPORT, Bates said: “I thought it was a joke at first. The FA is not a commercial institution; it is the custodian of the national game, which is association football.

“Wembley is the home football - it is the Mecca of English football. Every fan wants to go, at least once in your lifetime.”

It is believed the funds received from the sale will be put back into grassroots football by the FA, with up to £500m reported to be available for that reinvestment.

Bates refuses to believe these reports, doubting whether the FA could oversee such a deal.

SEE ALSO: Wembley sold: What does it mean for England and an NFL team based in London?

“I think that’s a load of rubbish,” he added. “First of all, I’m not sure who the current board of the FA are, but have they got the ability to invest £500m?

“I doubt it…

“Who’s going to administer it? Who’s going to supervise it? Who’s going to maintain the running costs of it?

“If they really want money to invest in grassroots football to that extent, they should ask the Premier League to do it, because they’ve got billions.”

Bates then went to call on fans to act out against the FA’s decision, first by starting a petition against the sale, and then by organising mass demonstrations against the organisation.

“Well there are a number of things,” Bates responded when asked what fans must do.

“Firstly, they must start a petition to parliament. When it has 100,000 signatures it has to go to parliament, so they should start organising that.

“Then I think there has to be a mass demonstration by the fans.

“Then you have to get to the individual directors - name them, shame them, find out when they are then tackle them.”