The English Football Association have confirmed that the long-awaited reconstruction of Wembley stadium, has finally received the go-ahead.

The £750 million project, the most expensive in world sport, will feature a 90,000 capacity stadium with scope to introduce an athletics track with a reduced capacity of 63,000.

“We must remember Wembley is an icon and every player there has ever been has wantedto play at Wembley. We believe we will have the finest stadium in the world,” FA chief executive Adam Crozier told a news conference.

The deal which involves contributions from the FA, lottery money as well as a £426 milliin loan from German bank Westdeutsche Landesbank, was backed by the government despite reservations about the spiralling cost of the scheme.

“It’s been a long saga. I am very happy to say the saga is now over, or chapter one is,” said Tessa Jowell, the minister for sport.

“We now have to build the stadium on time and within budget.”

The estimated cost of the project, partly funded with money from Britain’s National Lottery, has more than trebled since the government announced plans to build a new stadium in 1996.