Tessa Jowell said a deal now seemed close

She said that the FA would be given an extra month to meet the fifth condition for government support - confirming that they had adequate financial backing for the project.

The deadline has been extended to 30 May, one month later than the original 30 April date that had been set for final agreement.

Firming up a bank deal

Last week, the FA said it had the funding in place for the proposed �715m project to rebuild Wembley stadium.

It is thought that the new 90,000 all-seater stadium will be largely funded by German finance company Westdeutsche Landesbank.

The bank has submitted a �400m package after emerging as the sole bidder for the project after British bank Barclays withdrew.

A rival bid for the stadium to be built in Birmingham now seems certain to fail, and Ms Jowell told the Commons she understood the decision would be "upsetting" for those who supported the alternative scheme.

The famous twin towers will be demolished

The rebuilt stadium is expected to have the capacity for a platform to be installed with a running track for athletics.

That means the FA will not have to return �20m Lottery cash awarded to the project on behalf of athletics.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) has also given the go-ahead to contribute �21m towards the cost.

The conditions laid out by the government are:

• that the FA secures financing of the project
• that the FA show the construction deal with builders Multiplex represents value for money
• that Wembley National Stadium Limited provide a report by corporate trouble-shooter David James into the Multiplex agreement to the National Audit Office. James had been critical of some of the details of awarding of the construction contract
• that WNSL bring in changes in corporate governance, i.e. make some changes to the way it is run