There is an implication in this that most people haven't realised the only way this could remain fair to those teams at the bottom if drawn against one of "The Big Clubs" is for relegation an promotion to and from the Championship to be ended. This is why the American Football match could be played at Wembley because there is no relegation. In effect the English Premier League is calling for a closed shop.

Stephen, St. Ives, England

Do these people honestly believe this will make the league more competitive? Players already play too many games and I don't care how much they get paid. Can you expect them to play to the best of their ability after sitting on a plane for 18 hours? This is just another case of the Premier League cashing in on its huge worldwide popularity.
And what about grass roots football in these other countries? Presumably the cash generated by the FA will only decrease the pot available to other FA's to develop their own talent.

Jon Smith, Sydney, Australia

As an Australian fan of Premier League football, I would HATE to see Premier League matches played in Australia.

Aside from damaging the integrity of the Premier League, have they considered the damage it will do to the local leagues of the countries they intend to invade? The A-League in Australia is doing a pretty good job of getting a toehold in a sports market that has ignored football for the most part for decades. What gives the EPL the right to go trampling all over the A-League's territory in the middle of the A-League season?

Joel, Bendigo, Australia

The clubs don't get it. The appeal of the sport and the league is predicated on the passion of the fans, the stadia, the derbies, etc. in their traditional and natural settings.

There is nothing as good as watching a Prem or even a lower division match in Britain. There is nothing as bad as watching English football in an American stadium. And I have seen both.

B Morris, Pittsburgh, USA

This proposal is financially driven. It is not about football; it's about TV rights and maximising profit. It is not about developing English players it's about selling more Arsenal jerseys and scarves in Madrid. The proposal is inherently unfair as it means that a team has to play at least one team three times per season. A top 5 team could earn 9 points against a relegation fighting team while a rival team faces a mid-table team. A careless proposal which is in the public domain without being thought through.

Jonathan S, Bermuda

Jonathan Smith, Hamilton, Bermuda

This is so sad the game is being ruined by rampant commercialism, so many fans from the games traditional fan base, the working class can no longer afford to go and watch their teams. I haven't been to a football match for years because of the cost. It's an alien world now with greedy foreigners buying up famous old clubs and mortgaging them and paying the loans off with profits made from the clubs fans, along with aggressive marketing to maximise the 'brands they have bought. Not to mention the extortionate wages paid to even the most mediocre player.
I recently read that prior to the advent of the Premier League you could go to Old Trafford to watch a match for £5. (The same probably applies to many other clubs). Now its five to six times that amount, minimum, even accounting for inflation thats a huge hike in admission fees and things are just getting worse.

Dave, Lancashire, UK

I assume that Sky have propsed this to get more exclusive coverage. The sooner the EU break this TV MONOPOLY the better

C Darken, Nantwich, UK

as an american who at one time was a fan of the ny yankees, knicks, rangers, and giants, i think i can say that the owners of the premier league teams are heading down the road to greater profits, and less support from the fans. i haven't watched a complete game of any of the teams i used to support in years. since fox brings at least 4 premier league games each weekend, along with fa cup games and some international friendlies, i watch english football because itseems truer to its roots that anything here in the usa. but asnaming rights, and now global travel creeps in, you wiill also lose what makes your game so great to begin with. if people want to see the premier league live, buy a plane ticket and go to one. thats better for you economy anyway.

bill, phoenix, az

This is an absolute disgrace. Why does Peter from Torquay think that anybody cares about whether the games develops in the US. You can't have a fair season with an odd number of games - it is impossible. Also, how many people are really going to flock to a stadium to watch Middlesbrough v Man City? Also, clubs with a global fanbase (ie - Liverpool and Man U) will effectively be playing home games. The FA should be condeming this instead of supporting it; they are supposed to represent the game at ALL levels instead of backing the few at the top. I for one will not be watching and I urge anybody with a brain and a love of football to do the same. THe only people who will benefit are the top players and shareholders. Fans, as usual, are being further alienated by what used to be their clubs. Absolutely disgusting.

Ian, Bradford,

this must be right up bernie ecclestone's street.
no wonder he and mr mittal have bought in.
how long before they run the lot?

john, bern,

As an American fan of Premier League football, I would love to see a match, here in the States, played at the intensity of a fixture, as opposed to a less intense friendly. That said, I do NOT think the Premier League should schedule fixtures outside of England).

The games that count should be played in front of the fans, who sweat figuarative blood over their clubs. For most Americans, (real) football is, at best, a curiosity. Those of us who follow an English club can get matches on satellite TV (or pay air fare). Besides, most soccer/football fans in the US call it futbol and would rather see teams from the Mexican La Liga, anyway.

Jim, Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA

So, some foreign-owned team, formed mainly of foreign-born players is going to play some match in some foreign land.
What have British fans to bother about?

Andrea, Rome, Italy

Unbelievable! Who does the Premier League think they are kidding? The greed of these people knows no bounds. Scudamore's statement is just meaningless rhetoric paying lip service to 'concerns' for the domestic game, home grown talent and grass roots. Yeah right! The FA chimes in, but given their performance in giving us a national stadium that is a monument to corporate greed, their words are equally hollow. None of this money will find its way to those areas, so stop treating us like fools. The fat cats just want to take their millionaire playboys off to the sunshine and screw yet more money out of the market, leaving the true fans to freeze at home. This is the next step to total domination by the greedy money men, with meaningless matches played in grounds as sterile and lacking in atmophere as the ludicrous Club Wembley seats. Now we know why Keegan agreed to come back - after all, he already knows how to run a soccer circus!

Les Wilson, Farnborough, UK

It's a great idea, it could help boost football in America and
even help their Major League. Also it will bring in extra revenue
for the English game.

Another innovative idea would be to allow all Major League
Soccer clubs (13 clubs) to be in the Carling cup.

American football (not soccer) is becoming massive and they
will play some games in London, so why not return the favour.
American owners and American finances will ensure it will
happen also the Champions league will become bigger with
the group stage of 8 not 4 teams, so a guaranteed 14 games
in Europe - pay per view. It cannot be stopped it's about
money and popularity. Why not allow a Man Utd & Arsenal ect
B Teams to play in the Football League.

Peter, Torquay, England

How about Wigan v Bolton in Baghdad? Or Timbuktu? Or maybe Outer Mongolia?

Murray, Aberdeen,

Maximising profit for the football industry ,which is dependent on tv coverage rather than gate, could best be accomplished by playing matches in low cost areas such as, say, Mongolia and televising them for worldwide distribution by satellite. Costs could be further reduced by having no more than 4 pitches in premier league use 24/7 with computer generated stands and gate for atmosphere, on the outskirts of Ulan Bator.The whole circus could be exported en masse and the cheap labour available locally employed in the manufacture of souvenirs and football tat. Later, when the separation between players and spectators has progressed further, it could all be converted to a virtual reality show, needing no more players managers or trophy wives beyond the invention of the programmers , accountants and shareholders.

becop, Lowestoft, Suffolk

I sincerely hope this is an early April fool.
To begin with, 39 fixtures means that some teams will automatically get an unfair advantage, simply by drawing the season's whipping boys (eg. Derby) for their extra game, completely removing the inherent fairness of everyone playing everyone twice, both home and away.
Next, the idea that the top five are seeded to avoid each other - not exactly going to help make the Premier League more competitive is it, giving the big boys more winnable games and denying them the chance to lose points to each other?
Thirdly, fixture allocation: Arsenal vs Liverpool will no doubt pack out any stadium in any oil-rich sheikhdom, Kuala Lumpur or Shanghai. Wigan vs Blackburn, a local derby, can't even fill the JJB, so what on earth is going to make this a big draw 2000 miles away?
Finally, the fans; many are already gouged to financial breaking point, so following their team overseas is no-go. But why bother with them when you've got others to exploit?

Paul, Bermondsey, UK

well said matt.

im sure the NFL match wasnt an add on game but part of the fixture list agreed by both clubs.

And how many true fans can afford a trip to New York just for one game? that would completely destroy the atmosphere of the game when the majority in the stadium are neutrals.and would the price of a season ticket goes up as well?

And i am certain doctors and experts have already expressed their concerns over the physical demand to top players, so one extra game and flying half way around the world would certainly add extra strain to that.

Apart from economical values, I see no other reasons for doing this. The league is the richest football league in the world and is already a global brand. If fans from aboard want to see their team play, let them come and enjoy our culture and cities. They will also boost our economy in the travel industry....very much the same if i were to travel to italy to watch milan.

beside, the players are just adding their carbon footprint too!

derek mok, brighton, UK

Your headline is slightly hysterical bearing in mind the story below.

Lee, London,

What makes English football so popular abroad is not only the teams and players, but also the atmosphere and the way the game is played in premiership matches. It's the whole package that appeals. Would we get a true premiership game in the heat of Dubai? Would the jetlagged superstars of our league be able to put in the same level of performance as usual in say Japan or Malaysia? When would these games be played? It's already been pointed out that we're constantly being told that TOO MANY games are being played and If this proposal is serious, then we have got the wrong people running the premier league. It's diabolical to think that, to pander to commercialism, the premier league would seroiusly consider this. It would take away the essence of english league football, each team playing each other twice home and away, over 9 moths through every kind of weather possible. Thats the challenge. To have some kind of one-off extra game throws all that out and is a crazy idea. All the big teams now tour these parts of the world. That is the chance for people from these countries to see players in the flesh. I would love to see Barca V R.Madrid or the Milan derby but I don't suppose they will be popping over to play Serie A or La Liga matches at the likes of White Hart Lane or Old Trafford, so I'd have to go to Spain or Italy. Let them come here if they want to see our game. Keep English football in England!!

Andy, London, England

It was the Super Bowl Champion Giants who played at Wembley, not the hapless Jets.

I hope this proposal is well thgouth through- the schedule seems perfect now - no reason to tinker with it (other than to chase the almightly Pound (or dollar or yen or euro...).

Cromwell, New York, NY, USA

This is nothing more than another stepping-stone to the self-destruction of the major football teams in the UK. We've seen how profits have diluted our football, particularly in recent years, with ticket prices rising, stadiums having more executive seats than public seats, more and more money to buying players...
This is just a further stab in the back to the true consumers that have already been messed around enough and can lead to nothing more than them turning their backs upon their (to be) 'local' teams.
Good luck to the Premier League in their new travelling circus, if it does ever hit the road they may as well not purchase return plane tickets because I don't really watch oversea's fotball unless it involves a domestic team.

Thom Mills, Manchester,

Why?

DS, Manchester,

That would completely eliminate the fairness of the Premier League schedule, which sees every team play every other team twice, one at home and once away. We already have two tournaments with a solid emphasis on luck (a draw) and that's the FA and Carling Cups - we don't need to be having a discussion on how one team won the title by one point over another because their 39th game was against a much-lesser opponent. I really do not like this idea. If they moved one of the 38 regularly-scheduled ideas with the OK of the home team involved, that could work but don't add a 39th and get rid of how completely fair the league schedule is set up right now.

Matt, Cheney, Wash., USA