The FA are set to create a new board to deal with Wembley security breaches - after Champions League final saw issues with ticketless fans and three pitch invasions

The FA are creating a new Board to improve security at Wembley following repeated crowd problems and public order issues. 

Mail Sport exposed a shocking breach of security at Wembley on Wednesday by getting into last Saturday’s Champions League final without a ticket. The game was also interrupted by three pitch invasions.

The FA spent £5million in an attempt to improve security at Wembley before the match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, but have acknowledged that further improvements are needed and are seeking outside experts with experience of policing, counter terrorism and stadium operations. 

Headhunting firm Odgers Berndtson have been appointed to recruit members of the new Advisory Board and have begun approaching potential candidates, with interviews to take place this summer.

The FA’s recruitment process had begun before the Champions League final, and is in part a continued response to the crowd problems that marred the final of the 2021 European Championship, which led to them being fined £84,500 by UEFA and England being forced to play a Nations League match against Italy behind closed doors at Molineux. 

Although it will not be the Advisory Board’s sole focus, improving safety and security at Wembley will be a key part of its remit, in addition to improving the experience for fans.

An FA source told Mail Sport that they are recruiting a new Board to challenge their thinking and help develop new strategies in safety, security, commercial and digital areas.

The FA’s move also represents an acknowledgment that Wembley has fallen behind other leading venues such as the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the redeveloped Santiago Bernabeu in recent years, and that standards need to be raised if they are to continue to win the right to host major global events and maintain revenues. 

Wembley will stage the final and both semi-finals of the 2028 Euros as the centrepiece of a tournament being staged jointly by the five Home Nations.

The emergence of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as a global venue in London has created issues for the FA, with the NFL choosing to stage two matches at Tottenham this year with just one at Wembley.