The English Premier League’s 20 clubs on Thursday agreed to a proposal that would see each team play games in cities across the world over one weekend in January, beginning in 2011. This would be an extra match, bringing the total number of Premier League matches to 39. Teams would randomly draw a venue but would matched to an opponent based on their Premier League standing. Those cities named in the report from Sporting Life include New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Johannesburg, Dubai and Beijing.
“We believe that an ‘international round’ of matches will enhance the strength of the Barclays Premier League as a competition, create extra interest in all 20 Premier League clubs at home and abroad, and allow increased investment in talent development and acquisition, facilities as well as our football development and community programmes,” Premier League chief Richard Scudamore said.
Each of the EPL clubs have agreed in principle to the plan, which was short on details other than those mentioned above. The idea, obviously, is to promote the Premier League and expand its worldwide audience. There would also be a massive TV windfall, which the proposal says the teams would share. However, if you’re an EPL manager, can you imagine drawing Sydney as a venue? That’s a 22-hour flight from London — and teams will have only just completed the grueling Christmas period. One wonders what EPL managers think about this one.