Fresh concerns over Wembley’s readiness for the FA Cup final emerged this week after Brent council revealed it has been unable to confirm the dates for two ramp-up events planned for next month, adding to fears that the timetable for completing the stadium is slipping.
The FA has been in discussions with the local authority for months about holding two events, a women’s international on March 11 and an England Under-21 international on March 24 and, while Soho Square has been careful not to publicly commit to either date, one or both dates could be in doubt.
The women’s international appears to be the most likely victim of delays in the completion of the stadium. The game is less than three weeks away and the national side has committed to fixtures either side of the March 11 date, against Russia at MK Dons on March 8 and Russia at Swindon on March 14.
The two Wembley fixtures, intended to be 60 000 capacity events, are crucial to the stadium receiving the safety licence it requires to host the FA Cup final on May 19.
Should the events go as planned the certificate will be issued shortly afterwards, so there is some room in the FA’s timetable, but any slippage will reduce the time available to deal with fundamental problems thrown up by the events.
The FA’s director of football development, Trevor Brooking, said this week he had ”no reason” to doubt the FA Cup final would take place at Wembley, but speculation is increasing that the showpiece game may once more be in jeopardy. — Â