Redeveloped Old Trafford can take FA Cup semi-finals away from Wembley, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham hopes
Andy Burnham hopes a revamped Old Trafford can take the FA Cup semi-finals away from Wembley and even host England matches again.
manchester united have created a working group to stadium regeneration hoping to turn the land into the 'Wembley of the North', according Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, is among the names on that task force along with the chair of the London 2012 organizing committee. Olympic GamesGentleman Sebastian Coe and club legend Gary Neville.
As well as providing United with a state-of-the-art home for what they hope will be an exciting new era, Burnham says he hopes the stadium can be used for the good of English football and put an end to the concentration of big games in London.
Speaking exclusively on talkSPORT's Gameday Exclusive, Burnham said: “I think we should go back to playing an FA Cup semi-final, for example, across the country.
“That was my education. I have never liked the idea of semi-finals at Wembley. Why shouldn't they be here?
“If you had Liverpool vs City in the semi-final, he would rightly arrive at a renovated Old Trafford.
“We're too London-centric in this country, aren't we? Personally, I would like to see England play across the country to create more affinity with the national team.
“Obviously those are debates for another day and I don't think it will impact whether they move forward with this or not, but I would like to have a conversation with the FA about really making it a national game.
“When Wembley was being rebuilt, it was good that the FA Cup was being held in Cardiff and it was good that England were playing all over the country.”