PROSPECTIVE NEW WEMBLEY owner Shahid Khan feels England’s national stadium should be aiming to stage the FIFA World Cup final and the NFL’s Super Bowl.
The Football Association confirmed last week it has received an offer to purchase the venue, with Khan, owner of NFL franchise Jacksonville Jaguars and Championship football team Fulham, the interested party.
The 67-year-old Pakistani-American billionaire businessman has already offered assurances over England matches and promised to refurbish parts of Wembley, which opened in 2007 to replace its cherished predecessor.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Sport, Khan revealed his grand long-term plans for the facility.
“Our role would be to provide a world-class venue,” he said.
“[The FA] will have a pool of money of about £600m that can be invested into the core mission of the FA, which is English football and their ultimate goal of winning a World Cup.
“Wembley is a great stadium and you want to get it configured to hold Super Bowl and World Cup finals.
“We would very much like for England matches and cup finals to be played at Wembley, that is the DNA.
“We want to keep the original mission of Wembley alive. Frankly, that’s what gives Wembley its value.”
Khan also indicated he would be willing to allow Fulham’s rivals Chelsea to play at Wembley while the Blues’ Stamford Bridge home undergoes a major redevelopment.
“Personally, I have not spoken to Chelsea, but the CEO of Fulham has spoken to his counterpart at Chelsea,” he said.
“It [making Wembley available] was never an issue to us. Chelsea has been a great club and those relationships go back a long time.”
