36 THE PREM ERA
THE STORY
On February 7, 2008, a meeting of
the Premier League club chairmen
received a presentation from PL chiefexecutive Richard Scudamore. He
outlined plans, also explained on an
elaborate DVD, to play a 39th round
of league matches in five foreign host
cities each season, starting inJanuary- The plan would earn each
Premier League club around £5m a
season in broadcasting rights, ticket
sales, sponsorship and hosting fees.
THE RESPONSE
The club chairmen were enthusiastic,
with the exception of Liverpool’s Rick
Parry. In the outside world, the plans
were universally condemned, from
FIFA president Sepp Blatter down.
Blatter slammed the plans as “an
abuse of association football” and said
they could affect England’s 2018 World
Cup bid. “If you go against the authority
of FIFA and the executive committee,
then you cannot expect them to be
in your favour later on.”
UEFA president Michel Platini was
unequivocal in his condemnation of
the plan: “It’s comical. You already have
no English coach, you have no English
players and maybe now you will have
no club playing in England. It’s a joke.”
Junji Ogura, an FA vice-president
inJapan, one of the potential host
countries, said: “Even if FIFA approves
the idea, the Premier League cannot
hold any matches inJapan without the
JFA’s approval, and we don’t allow any
matches between foreign clubs. We
have to protect our league and clubs.”
The plan even upset ManchesterUnited manager Alex Ferguson. He
said: “It is disrespectful not to have
been consulted. There should be a
proper inquiry and discussion with
managers and players before an
issue is made of it.”
The English FA, having delayed
a response until hearing from FIFA,
eventually came out against the
plan, with new chairman Lord
Triesman declaring the plan
to be “unsustainable”.THE CLIMBDOWN
Scudamore backed out of a meeting in
Zurich with Blatter, effectively killing off
the plan. “Clearly we are not going to
take this forward if it doesn’t meet with
some form of acquiescence from FIFA,”
he said. But he denied the proposal
was a “dead duck”: “We have got until
January 2009 to shape any proposals,
to consult widely and properly, and to
see how we manage to move forward
with what is now a global sporting
phenomenon.”THE CONSPIRACY THEORY
Scudamore anticipated the backlash
and was prepared for it just to get the
idea of playing Premier League games
abroad talked about. This theory
suggests he will come back with
another proposal, to play one of
the regular 38 rounds abroad rather
than a 39th, part of the criticism of
which was that it would unsettle the
competitive balance of the league.APRIL 2008: The Premier League has been plunged into
controversy after plans emerge to introduce a 39th match
into the fixture list to be played abroad.World Soccerattempts to unpack the highly divisive issue...
THE STORIES
Taking the flak...
Richard ScudamoreGame 39
UEFA president Michel Platini