Tottenham Hotspur are close to a deal to play Premier League games at Wembley in the 2017/18 campaign and are looking at staging Uefa Champions League matches there next season, English FA chairman Greg Dyke said.
Spurs will have a reduced capacity of about 32,000 next season due to building work and the club said they are discussing options to meet Uefa stadium requirements with Champions League qualification close to being assured.
The North London club need to find a home for the season after next while white Hart Lane is demolished and they erect a new £400 million (Dh2.12 billion) 61,000-seat stadium on the site.
Rivals Chelsea have also shown interest in using Wembley for up to three years, Dyke said, while they build a new 60,000-seat stadium at Stamford Bridge.
Dyke said he would welcome Tottenham and Chelsea playing at Wembley, as it made sense for all parties concerned with the FA hoping to use the extra income for grass roots football.
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“We’re certainly in discussions with Spurs that they should come in for a full season when they’re rebuilding their stadium. We’re a long way down the path with reaching an agreement,” Dyke, who has a few months left as chairman, told Sky Sports.
“We’re in discussions about them playing their Champions League games there at Wembley next year but I don’t know much about that. On the full season, I think we’re quite close to a deal.”
Spurs are all but assured of finishing at least third in the Premier League, which brings an automatic Champions League spot, given their superior goal difference over fourth-placed Manchester City, who are six points behind with two games to play.
Local rivals Arsenal played Champions League games at Wembley in the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons before the national stadium was completely rebuilt and reopened in 2007.
Chelsea submitted plans in December to redevelop their Stamford Bridge ground, which holds just over 41,000. Work on the new stadium will start in the 2017/18 season.
“I think Chelsea might come for a longer period (than Spurs) because they have really exciting plans for Stamford Bridge and may demolish the whole thing and build a whole new stadium on the existing site and if they can that would mean them coming for three years.”
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