FOR the first time yesterday, the FA admitted publicly that the new Wembley Stadium might not be ready to stage the FA Cup Final next May. The decision on whether the showpiece match will be moved to Cardiff will be made after the third round of the FA Cup in January.

Brian Barwick, the FA chief executive, said yesterday: “I do not know where the Cup Final will be held. I hope it will be at Wembley.” He added that it was “prudent” to keep open the option of playing the match at the Millennium Stadium, which has hosted all the finals since the old Wembley was closed in October 2000.

The tone of Barwick’s comments differ from those of Michael Cunnah, the chief executive of Wembley National Stadium Ltd, a subsidiary of the FA, who insisted on October 20 that the troubled project was on schedule. Failure to complete Wembley by next May would be an embarrassment for the FA and Multiplex, the Australian construction company. It will also be a warning to the organising committee of the 2012 Olympics how these massive projects can easily overrun.

Wembley, at nearly £800 million the most expensive stadium in the world, has to be finished at least six weeks before the final because two trial games must be held at the 90,000-seat venue so that it can be given a safety licence by Brent Council.

The lavishly appointed arena will host all future England internationals, FA Cup semi- finals and Final, the play-offs and the finals of other tournaments. It will put on one rugby league match a year and also host the final of the 2012 Olympic football tournament.

Last week, the first piece of Wembley’s sliding roof began to be lifted into position. This will be used to protect spectators when it rains. The pitch will remain open to the elements so that the grass can grow naturally and benefit from sunlight.

Completing the project has always been a race against time for Multiplex. This year, the company admitted that it had underestimated the cost of constructing Wembley, the share price fell and John Roberts resigned as executive chairman.

Plans for the new national football stadium were drawn up ten years ago and construction has been beset by problems, particularly in 1999, when the Government decided athletics should not be part of the stadium because it believed that the venue was unsuitable for the sport.

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