Thursday 28 March 2019 23:32, UK
England manager Gareth Southgate believes the Football Association should reconsider selling Wembley to raise funds for grassroots football.
The FA had been discussing the potential sale of the national stadium to Shahid Khan before the proposed deal collapsed in October, when the Fulham owner withdrew his £600m offer for the ground.
Southgate has called on the FA to reconsider selling the stadium but insists the ground must remain as a venue for England.
"I don't think, fundamentally, it matters who owns Wembley," said Southgate.
"We do need to play there. It's right the England team plays there. In my opinion, there was an opportunity to raise money through its sale.
"In this calendar year, we will have three matches there. So in actual fact, the logic of owning it compared to being tenants - we were tenants in 1996 and it was a brilliant tournament.
"I do understand the public's passion for a national landmark. But in general, owning a property isn't necessarily the right thing if it's costing you money."
Southgate believes the sale of Wembley would help to fund much-needed grassroots facilities across the country.
"It's not fair to say the Premier League don't spend money, because they do. It would be unfair to say clubs don't work in the community, because they do," said Southgate.
"Funding from government has been cut and has to be spent in other areas. But we don't have enough pitches.
"And if there aren't pitches for kids to play on, or they can't get onto them. Then it doesn't matter how good the coaching is, they need facilities to go and play.
"We are seeing kids in our team who have come through cage football, so you don't need huge expanses. You can develop skills in smaller areas."
