Last year’s record number of events hosted at Wembley Stadium in London has been a key revenue source for the Football Association, which recently posted a record turnover of £370m (€430m/$460m) for 2016.
The annual revenues, comprising the FA Limited, Wembley National Stadium Limited and the National Football Centre Limited, were up from £318m in 2014-15.
While broadcasting deals remain the FA’s most important revenue stream, Wembley hosted the NFL and Rugby World Cup matches last year, supplementing the usual schedule of England games and concerts.
The national stadium’s revenues could grow considerably in the future, too, as the FA has applied to host more events every year at its full 90,000-seat capacity.
According to the North-West Evening Mail, there have been concerns in the past about the renewal of the Club Wembley debenture seats – 17,500 premium seats on 10-year contracts – but Press Association Sport understands the FA is now relatively relaxed about this process.
The figures showed £125m was invested into every level of football across the 2015-16 season, growing from £117m in 2014-15.
Martin Glenn, the FA’s chief executive, said: “The FA is a not-for-profit organisation and our focus is on investment for the future of the game. Last year we made very good progress.
“The most significant areas of investment were contributions to the County FAs, coaching and participation, FA Cup distributions, supporting all 24 England teams plus key investment into grassroots facilities such as the first-ever Parklife hub in Sheffield.”
Ticket revenue from Premier League football clubs Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, which are both looking to redevelop their home grounds and relocate temporarily to Wembley during the construction period, could be a further asset for the FA moving forward.
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