Prospective Wembley owner Shahid Khan wants to host 2030 World Cup matches and has assured the English Football Association the national stadium can remain the centerpiece of major tournaments if the sale is completed.
England has been exploring a bid for the 2030 centenary World Cup but is yet to say if it will challenge the early applicant from maiden host Uruguay Bo Scarbrough Jersey , which has launched a joint campaign with Argentina and Paraguay.
Khan told The Associated Press that "very preliminary talks" have been held with the FA about bidding for the FIFA tournament. The 90,000-capacity Wembley, which would be required for the final, is already due to host seven games at the continent-wide European Championship in 2020, including the last three games. England is also vying to host the Women's European Championship in 2021.
"We would want it to host the World Cup and anything else that is available," Khan said in a telephone interview. "The FA still has key assets there they will be getting revenue off. All of us will be aligned to use it and build on the heritage of the place."
Khan, who also owns the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars and London soccer team Fulham, hopes his purchase of Wembley from the FA goes through in two to three months after a period of due diligence.
"We are going to be perfectly aligned (with the FA) ... on all the important issues," Khan said.
The FA is still expecting to have use of the national stadium for England games and major cup finals, even if the sale goes through for a price of around 600 million pounds ($840 million).
"Wembley is still going to be an iconic British stadium," Khan said. "We are going to be investing more in it to keep it right up to the leading edge of game-day experience."
There was a large backlash when Wembley's distinctive white twin towers were demolished to make way for the new Norman Foster-designed stadium Brian Dawkins Jersey , which opened in 2007 featuring a "Triumphant Arch" towering 400 feet above the venue.
The reaction has been less hostile to the FA's plans to sell a facility it has owned for only the last two decades as it oversaw the reconstruction at a cost of 800 million pounds.
Gordon Banks, the goalkeeper who helped England win the World Cup in 1966 at Wembley, fears NFL fixtures might take precedence over games for the national soccer team.
"It was a very special place and I don't think we should be selling it," Banks wrote in The Sun newspaper. "Football's gone wild with the money right now. I think it's spoiling the game a bit."
The Sun was one of four British newspapers to use their front or back pages on Friday to gather criticism of the proposed sale, saying "fury erupted."
The Daily Express headline asked, "Is nothing sacred? How on earth can the FA even think of selling Wembley Stadium when your money paid to build it twice."
The Daily Star launched a campaign to "Save Our Stadium," and the Daily Mirror said the FA was "selling football's soul" by selling the "home of the English game to an American billionaire."
Aware he might have to overcome resistance to the deal, Khan knows emotions run high when it comes to the scene of English soccer's greatest triumph in 1966.
"Obviously it has history and you have to respect it," Khan said. "When it comes to a transaction it's a lot of money but it's not the most money I've spent. I've spent a lot more money investing in auto factories in the last 12 months."
Khan built his fortune in the automotive industry after moving to the U.S. from Pakistan. He bought the Jaguars in 2011 and secured a deal to play annual NFL regular season games in London. The sports portfolio was expanded with the buyout of Fulham in 2013.
Rob Harris is at RobHarris and facebook/RobHarrisReports
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix returned to Lambeau Field for Green Bay Packers minicamp after the safety cited personal issues for missing some voluntary offseason workouts.
Clinton-Dix said that the death of his godmother following a heart attack hit him hard. She was a school principal who played a formative role in Clinton-Dix's upbringing.
"I learned everything. I learned the principles of being a young man, not taking anything for granted," he said.
Having the opportunity to spend time with family meant a lot to him.
"But Jourdan Lewis Jersey , you know, my family means everything to me," Clinton-Dix said after practice Tuesday. "If I have the opportunity to be home with them, I would love to be home with them."
The safety's absence during some voluntary workouts in May and early June was notable given that the Packers have a new defensive coordinator, Mike Pettine. A Pro Bowler in 2016, Clinton-Dix is part of the core of a defense hoping to improve following a lackluster 2017 season.
He's also entering the option year of the rookie contract signed after being drafted in the first round in 2014 out of Alabama.
Asked why he missed some of the workouts, Clinton-Dix first said "family issues," then winked .
Asked if his absence wasn't contract related, the fifth-year pro replied "personal issues."
Later, Clinton-Dix said he had no deadline to get a new deal done. He doesn't sound like someone who plans to hold out, either.
"What would it do Zach Laskey Jersey , though?" Clinton-Dix said. "You're just wasting your time, really. You're getting fined and fined and fined. I'm a guy that, I need my money, man. That's why I'm here now. I need my money."
Clinton-Dix was in Green Bay for three weeks at the start of the offseason program in April. He had his team-issued tablet computer the entire time while he was away to watch practices.
If there were any questions, Clinton-Dix would contact position coach Joe Whitt. A member of the coaching staff would get back to him with an answer, or send another video clip to help.
"Well, you guys can take attendance. It's a mandatory minicamp, so things step up. But I feel really good, Ha Ha all the way through," coach Mike McCarthy said. "We've had change, we've transitioned through that."
McCarthy followed recent tradition and excused 16 veterans with six or more years of experience from this week's minicamp Ezekiel Elliott Jersey , including quarterback Aaron Rodgers. So practices this week can especially help rookies or younger players lower on the depth chart make impressions on the coaching staff.
Still, any time on the practice field with a player with Pro Bowl potential such as Clinton-Dix can help as the Packers hope to finish the offseason program strong before going on summer break.
"Scheme or not, all you've got to do is (say) 'You've got this, you've got this' and he's going to go out there and play," second-year cornerback Kevin King said. "Playbook-wise, I'm not worried about that. Ha Ha is going to be Ha Ha."
Always confident, Clinton-Dix used word play when asked if minicamp was a time when he could play catch-up. Pettine's scheme appears to play to Clinton-Dix's strength and allow him to spend more time closer to the line of scrimmage, rather than 20 yards out.
"I love ketchup. Love it on my hot dogs, love it on my hamburgers and I love it on my fries," Clinton-Dix said. "Catch-up won't be a problem."
Adidas Frans Nielsen Jersey ,
« While quests acquainted like a decay of time in MapleStoryshould return to the li »
Weitere Artikel der Kategorie Allgemein
RSS-Feed abonnieren
Besucher
Forum Statistiken
