The Premier League could soon stage matches overseas after all 20 clubs agreed at a meeting to consider the idea.
Under the proposal, from the 2010-11 season in one weekend in January there would be an extra ‘international round’ with 10 matches played abroad in cities such as Hong Kong, New York, Los Angeles, Singapore, Sydney, Johannesburg, Dubai and Beijing.
“The ‘international round’ is an exciting and innovative proposal that needs careful consideration before being introduced,” Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said.
“However, this concept recognises the truly global appeal of the Barclays Premier League whilst understanding that the traditions of the English game have always underpinned our success.
No decision has been made on how the fixture list would be determined but one idea is to hold a draw, excluding the top five teams, who would all be seeded so that they do not face each other. Points from those games would be included in the Premier League table.
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Scudamore added: “The globalisation of sport is both an opportunity and a challenge; one that needs addressing in a responsible way.
“We are a better competition for being a cosmopolitan league and have benefited from our increased international reach. Nonetheless, it is critical we retain our English character by improving our efforts to produce home-grown talent, deepening our commitment to community engagement and continuing our investment in the grass-roots.”
It is expected further talks will take place and no formal decision will be made on the concept until the summer when the Premier League hold their annual meeting. If they agree to move ahead with the idea, it could be implemented for the 2010-11 season.
The Football Association have backed the proposal - but will ensure the overseas matches would not impact on cup or England games.
“The FA appreciates the Premier League making us aware of this interesting proposal in advance of today’s meeting,” an FA statement said.
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“We understand the Premier League’s desire to raise interest in English football around the world. We look forward to discussing the detail with the League and looking carefully at the implications, to ensure that the proposal fits well alongside the existing fixture list, including our domestic cup and league competitions and our national team games.
“We know that the Premier League are equally conscious of these issues.”
Nigel Howe, the Reading chief executive, has also reacted favourably to prospect. “At this stage it is just a proposal, so we can’t say too much,” Howe said. “But it sounds like an interesting proposal and I’m sure we’ll get more detail as things develop.
“The Barclays Premier League is hugely popular on the world stage, as we saw in South Korea when we played in the Peace Cup during the summer. It would be an exciting challenge to take the Premier League into those areas and we look forward to taking part in the discussions.”
The Premier League has seen their ncome from the sale of overseas TV rights rise from £178m in 2001 to £625m for the current deal that ends in 2010.
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Premier League games are watched in 600m homes in 202 countries worldwide, while a number of top-flight clubs already play matches around the world as they seek to capitalise on the huge global interest in the English game. Manchester United have made visits to Asia, Middle East and America in recent years.
Last year saw the first NFL match, played between Miami Dolphins and New York Jets , staged at the new Wembley stadium. Another fixture has been confirmed for this year, such is the global - and commercial - interest.
Jeremy Hunt, shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport, said playing matches outside England would be a “shame” and he expressed his concern that we are not improving homegrown talent.
“I think it would be a shame, that’s my instant reaction,” Hunt said. “But I do think that the Premier League benefits from the fact that we do have some of the best players in the whole world and I think we are very lucky with the Premier League we have.
“But we also need to make sure we have a Premier League that nurtures homegrown talent and at the moment that’s not happening as well as it should.”