FA CHIEFS face a Commons grilling by MPs over the planned sale of Wembley Stadium.
Chief executive Martin Glenn and chairman Greg Clarke are keen to sell the National Stadium to Fulham owner Shahid Khan in a deal worth £1billion.
They have pledged to ringfence £500m of the sale proceeds to spend on grassroots football including building a whole new generation of 3G and 4G artificial pitches.
But the sale is under threat from angry members of the FA Blazer Brigade, who plan an ambush next week and in the crucial Council meeting on May 29.
And now Glenn and Clarke have been told to justify their plan at a special one-off session with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport sub-committee on July 18.
Committee chairman, Tory MP Damian Collins, said: “Wembley is the home of English football, built in part using public money.
“There should be some public scrutiny of any decision to sell the stadium and how proceeds from this could be invested to benefit the long-term future of the game.
“The Committee is interested in understanding the details of the FA’s proposals and receiving evidence from people who may hold alternative views.”
Collins and his colleagues left Glenn squirming during a session called to investigate the Mark Sampson affair which culminated in the departure of the England women’s coach after allegations of sexism and racism.
It means relationships between the FA and the committee are lukewarm although Glen and Clarke may see the hearing as the opportunity to sell their vision of the end-game to a doubtful public.
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Sports Minister Tracey Crouch has also been called to give evidence with the Committee seeking to probe three specific areas of the deal.
Glenn and Co will be asked to explain the risks incurred by the potential sale, which would make Wembley the new home of the Jacksonville Jaguars and mean England playing “on the road” for their autumn internationals.
They will also be asked to outline the benefits of the sale – which will be Glenn’s chance to spell out his grass roots vision.
And they will also be probed over the impact selling Wembley would have on the future of English football.
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