England FA chief gives approval for Spurs and Chelsea to share Wembley

A huge obstacle has seemingly been cleared that will help the new White Hart Lane project to proceed.

According to The Guardian, the English FA has given it's blessing to both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea to do a ground share of Wembley Stadium for the 2017-2018 season. England FA Chief Martin Glenn commented on the situation and appears to be more than willing to help out the London clubs.

"I won’t comment on clubs but if that’s an opportunity then we will follow it," Glenn said. "We are there to provide help. We can run the FA for less costs and we can raise more. There’s a range of things. It’s primarily a football stadium, football matches are more profitable to run than concerts and other things.

"We are the national stadium and seeking to use it more is what we are all about. We have an obligation to football. I’m not talking specific clubs but it’s in our interest as an association for clubs to redevelop their grounds, make superb facilities and if it’s possible to help them in that transition by using Wembley we are absolutely supportive of that."

There were a couple of hang ups on this situation that had to be causing some fitful nights of sleep for the Spurs board. With the Olympic Stadium being used by West Ham United, the options were few and far between. There was word that Spurs might even be told to share The Emirates for a season with bitter rivals Arsenal. If that didn't work, a not so close trip up to Milton Keynes to use Stadium MK was more than likely the final landing spot for the Lilywhites.

There isn't much else to talk about here, such as what the fee would be to use the stadium. Chelsea may be in a tougher spot than Spurs will be in since it appears that Stamford Bridge is actually going to need two full seasons for its upgrade while Spurs will only need the 2017-2018 season before the new stadium opens up.

Still, this is excellent news. If the English FA is willing to say it's okay, then it's now up to everyone to get a deal in place for the arrangement and some creative scheduling to ensure no conflicts will happen between the clubs. Wembley has always been the ideal selection as it is in London, albeit our Google overlords still tell us it's about a 40 minute drive from White Hart Lane to Wembley.

We'll wait to see what the final approval ends up as it appears the clubs, the FA, and the Premier League all have to come to terms.