September 28 – The old chestnut is back on the table. Or is it? The English Premier League are adamant they have no plans to take games abroad despite suggestions to the contrary.
Taking matches outside of England has long been discussed, with former Premier League boss Richard Scudamore first bringing up the idea of a ’39th game’ back in 2008. The plans were ultimately rejected by UEFA, FIFA and the English, leading to them being scrapped.
Yet Scudamore said back in August 2014: “It will happen at some point.”
And now The Athletic is reporting that when the 20 Premier League clubs met in London recently, continuing the growth of the competition around the world was one key area of discussion. The United States, China, India, Brazil and Indonesia were all apparently pinpointed as potential expansion areas.
In response to the leak, the Premier League claims it has no intention to play games abroad although there has been no official statement as such.
While speculation that top-flight clubs are working on resurrecting the ’39th game’ proposals persist, reports suggest a more likely scenario is that pre-season fixtures overseas might be made more meaningful.
The Premier League would not be the first body to tap into overseas markets. The Italian Supercup is held in Saudi Arabia as is the Spanish Super Cup.
La Liga were also set to host a game in the US, only for the move to be blocked by the courts.
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