IT was hardly a surprise when FA chief Adrian Bevington revealed on Wednesday that all England matches would have to be played at Wembley for at least the next decade.

When the national stadium was under reconstruction, and the spiralling costs of the project were under sharp focus, it was made painfully clear then that every game that could be staged at the new ground, would be.

That has included every FA Cup semi-final since it reopened for business.

Bevington reiterated the situation on Wednesday night, ahead of what turned out to be the worst attended international friendly at Wembley since 1998.

After reports came out that the gate could dip under 40,000 – it ended up being 40,181 – fans and pundits alike were clamouring for smaller games to be moved around the country.

But the FA chief tweeted: “People asking to take games around the country. Fair question, but fact is FA has contract with Wembley to play all home games there. RE Wembley, it has to be paid for.”

Bevington went on to reveal that the FA’s considerable debt would not be repaid for another “eight or nine” years.

What happens then was left up in the air, but I can hardly see the Wembley chiefs being too impressed if the FA suddenly decided to take the national team on another roadshow.

If they decide to do that, and also bow to popular demand and make a more geographically aware decision about where to stage the last four ties of the FA Cup, then I can see an argument brewing.

It could lead to a similarly farcical stand-off that existed between the owners of the Ricoh Arena and its tenants Coventry City.

The Sky Blues bosses only agreed to return from exile at Northampton’s Sixfields Stadium last night, when they played Burton Albion in front of an expected 25,000-strong crowd.

When it comes down to it though, football fans are not interested in debt problems and rent disagreements – they want to watch matches in the best possible atmosphere.

There is one proviso to this. Football clubs have an attendance benchmark – the point at which the cost of putting on a match is overtaken by the amount it makes from revenue.

It is only when they pass that point that they actually start to see any profit.

You have to wonder how much further England attendances would have to dip before staging friendlies at the national stadium starts to cost the FA money, rather than provide them with the cash they need to finally become debt free.

If the fans continue to vote with their feet – and there is real concern they might with a rather uninspiring set of Euro qualifiers ahead of them – then it might take the FA considerably more than 10 years before Wembley is finally paid for.