Fans
furious over Premier League plans for world domination
The 20 Premier League football clubs are proposing to play competitive
fixtures in cities as far flung as Sydney, Beijing, Miami and Tokyo in a
radical move that could raise £100 million a year.
Seeking to capitalise on the popularity of clubs such as Manchester United and
Liverpool in Asia, India and Australasia, the league wants to fit an extra
39th fixture – to be called the international round – into the calendar. It
raises the prospect of, for example, Manchester City playing Wigan Athletic
in Singapore for three points in front of a largely Asian audience.
The controversial proposal drew instant and familiar accusations of greed from
many English fans, particularly season-ticket holders, as well as
reservations from the Government, but the project may already have an
unstoppable momentum. The 20 clubs voted unanimously yesterday to examine
how it might work.
Tempted by the opportunity to raise up to £5 million each for one game, and to
advertise their brands in developing markets, the clubs embraced the
proposal put to them by Richard Scudamore, the league’s chief executive, to
play an extra league fixture every January.
“This is a huge strategic move, the biggest since the league started,” Mr
Scudamore said. “It makes the introduction of pay-per-view look pretty
small. The clubs are saying that the time has come. If we don’t do it,
another sport – or another football league – will do it to us. The league
cannot stand still. We are either moving forwards or backwards.”
The clubs would be split between five bidding cities; probably one venue each
in the Far East – including China – North America, the Middle East (Dubai
rather than Iraq), Australia and perhaps India.
Each city would host four teams, and two games, over a weekend.
The league has yet to clarify how the clubs would be paired but, for
commercial reasons, it seems inevitable that the established top four
(Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea) would be sent to
different locations. A draw could be made preseason or each club could be
pitted against the one that finished ten places below them in the previous
campaign. The league has set a deadline of next January to finalise the
proposals and, if approved, the first games would take place in the 2010-11
season to coincide with a new broadcast deal. The clubs currently divide
£2.7 billion over three years from domestic and international rights. The
introduction of the international round would ensure no reduction.
Mr Scudamore anticipated the criticism that the integrity of the competition
could be damaged if, for example, Manchester United beat Derby County 5-0 in
their one-off game in Shanghai while Chelsea drew 1-1 with a more formidable
Blackburn Rovers in Mel-bourne. “I admit is is a deviation, albeit a minor
one, one thirty-ninth, from perfect symmetry but integrity is a different
word,” he said.
“There are inherent unfairnesses in our league, like playing a team coming
back from a long trip in Europe or with players injured or suspended. But
that is not a lack of integrity. These will all be genuine matches in the
middle of the season.”
He said that the league had examined many proposals to take games abroad, such
as staging a big match, say United against Arsenal, in New York. The
organisation concluded that, in the interests of fairness, every club had to
be involved.
His plan is that, with games spread around different time zones, matches would
be staged consecutively so that fans could watch five live games on Saturday
and the same on Sunday. “It will make Superbowl Sunday look small time,” Mr
Scudamore said.
“We have been wrestling with it for some time because, in the last five years
and particularly the last 18 months, we have been inundated with offers.
That reached a crescendo when the NFL came to Wembley [last October when the
Miami Dolphins and New York Giants played the first competitive game of
American football outside the Americas].”
Sports are increasingly competing for a global audience and Mr Scudamore,
justifiably, argued that the Premier League was in the best position to make
headway. Football is established in most countries and increasingly popular
in expanding markets such as India and China, as well as North America.
While the benefits for the clubs, the overseas audiences and the armchair
viewer are obvious, there was bound to be dismay from supporters who save up
simply to follow their club around England. The Premier League will attempt
to soothe some of those concerns by arranging for sponsors to fly a number
of loyal fans out to the matches, although the vast majority will inevitably
remain at home. Mr Scudamore described it as a “travel opportunity” although
the price of flights to the southern hemisphere in January is likely to
prove prohibitive.
The plan has yet to be approved by Fifa, the world governing body, which has
the power of veto. Sepp Blatter, its outspoken president, is almost certain
to oppose the plan but he will also know that there will be a clamour of
bidding cities.
The FA gave perhaps a surprisingly open-minded response. The organisation has
been trying to force through a winter break for some years. Perhaps it has
accepted that this is its best chance. The international round would be in
the middle weekend of a two-week break in January.
Andy Burnham, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, called for
“careful consideration” of all the implications. “Staging a part of our
domestic league competition in other countries raises issues for supporters
and football authorities here and round the world,” he said.
“Playing an extra game also raises questions about the integrity of our
competition.”
Playing all over the world
— Cities in emerging markets such as the Far East, Middle East and America
would bid to host Barclays Premier League matches
— The weather would ideally be warm as the idea is conceived as the
centrepiece of a two-week winter break
— Five cities would be chosen to host two games over a January weekend
— Seeding is likely when the fixtures are arranged in preseason to keep the
most popular clubs apart
— The season would be extended to 39 games per club and points would count as
usual for the league table
— Clubs would undertake PR initiatives in the cities and loyal fans may be
flown out from home
— Time zones mean that in theory UK television viewers could watch every match
live
— Clubs based in the same cities would play each other back home in the next
round of fixtures so that they would all have had the same journeys and
level of jet lag
— They could make £5 million each and it would be a minimum three-year
experiment likely to start in January 2011
— A final decision on whether to proceed with the plan will be made by January
next year
Los Angeles, US Kick-off: 1pm local, 9pm UK
With David Beckham already imported to Hollywood, will entire clubs follow?
Major League Soccer is, in reality, of minor interest to Americans, but the
country’s potential has already been spotted by English clubs, such as
Chelsea, who have visited on preseason tours
Population: 13.1 million
Weather in Jan: 9C-20C
Favourite sports: American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey
Top local team: LA Galaxy
Dubai, UAE Kick-off: 8.30pm local, 4.30pm UK
The Government’s investment arm tried to buy Liverpool last year and is still
interested; the chance to bring the club to the rich desert state can only
make the club more attractive. Dubai hosts a range of important
international sports events and a number of top footballers have homes
there, attracted by the weather, golf courses and opulence
Population: 1.4 million
Weather in January: 14C-23C
Favourite sports: Horse racing, camel racing, golf, football, tennis
Top local team: Al Shabab
Bombay, India Kick-off: 8pm local, 2.30pm UK
It is hardly a football hotbed but as India’s largest city, and one of the
most populous in the world, there is huge scope for brand expansion – and
little competition from existing teams. Not forgetting the historical ties
to Britain. Delhi, hosting Formula One in 2010, is another credible option
Population: 18 million
Weather in January: 19C-29C
Favourite sports: Cricket, hockey, badminton
Top local team: Mahindra United
Singapore Kick-off: 8pm local, midday UK
SouthEast Asia’s smallest country has the wealth to attract English sides,
though it may have to compete with Hong Kong. Used as a route during the
British Empire, could Singapore be strategically important for Wayne Rooney
and friends?
Population: 3.6 million
Weather in Jan: 23C-29C
Favourite sports: Football, badminton, table tennis
Top local team: Singapore Armed Forces
Sydney, Australia Kick-off: 8pm local, 9am UK
Given the nations’ rivalry, perhaps not all the locals would welcome a
footballing invasion. But the sport is making inroads, and many of the
country’s top players ply their trade in England.
Population: 3.7 million
Weather in January: 19C-26C
Favourite sports: Rugby, Australian Rules football, cricket
Top local team: Sydney FC
