The debate over an international 39th round of English Premier League matches rages on. The New York Times’ Jeffrey Marcus points out that the measure, introduced and unanimously approved of (in principle) by the league’s 20 teams last week, has thus far received what can only be described as a “cool” reception from Europe, Asia and even, the United States. Does this mean that England is the only place where English football is welcome?
The Daily Mail says it won’t even matter what the rest of the global soccer community thinks if the English Football Association is opposed to the idea. According to the Guardian, the FA will grill EPL chief Richard Scudamore about this and other issues, including the lack of homegrown players on English teams these days. Meanwhile, an “international chorus of critics” worry that EPL matches played on foreign soil would threaten that country’s domestic game. UEFA President Michel Platini called the EPL’s ambitions “comical.”
Even U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati sounded reluctant: “In the past, we’ve been very reluctant to have official games played in the United States,” Gulati told the BBC. “The exceptions have been when FIFA or Concacaf have asked U.S. Soccer to host a qualifier or competitive game because no suitable home field was available.” He said the U.S. would unlikely support the EPL move even if FIFA gave the green light.