[indy62]

LONDON — England’s Premier League was set to announce plans Thursday to play 10 games overseas every season starting in 2011.

Under proposals approved by the league and chairmen of the 20 clubs, the season would be expanded so that five cities outside of Britain would host two matches each.

New York, Beijing and Tokyo are reportedly among the potential venues for the games, which would count toward the league standings.

The league called a news conference Thursday afternoon to announce the details.

Despite protests from coaches that their players already suffer from too many matches, the switch to a 39-game season would start in 2011 when a new television broadcast agreement is scheduled to take effect.

Following success of the top American leagues in staging football, basketball, hockey and baseball games outside of the United States, the Premier League could schedule the extra match for January.

Most Premier League clubs already embark on annual pre-season overseas tours to promote themselves and boost revenue. Manchester United and Liverpool have already toured Asia in the off-season.

Chelsea played AC Milan and D.C. United last year in a pre-season tour of the United States, while Manchester United even took part in a friendly match in Saudi Arabia last month during the middle of the regular season.

The NHL opened in London in September when the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings contested the first regular-season games to be played in Europe, and is set to open next season with four games in Stockholm and Prague.

The NFL held its first regular season game outside North America in London last October when the New York Giants beat the Miami Dolphins 13-10, the same month the Celtics and the Minnesota Timberwolves played a pre-season NBA game there.

[ShamsWoof10]

Geeee alll these major sports are playing games abroad at places where they are not popular... Are all these owners that stupid ....or is something else going on here..??????????

[indy62]

its probably all about the coin,charge crazy prices..for tix,gear and everything else while promoting you product and keeping the sponsors happy.....okay IT IS about the coin

[ShamsWoof10]

Originally Posted by indy62

its probably all about the coin,charge crazy prices..for tix,gear and everything else while promoting you product and keeping the sponsors happy.....okay IT IS about the coin

To say it's about "The Coin" is too general... You have been missing the fact, as mentioned in the forum before, that they are not very popular where they are going... The folding of NFL Europe was mentioned before by other posters as a concern to "American Football's" popularity in Europe... The US economy and US popularity for football (as an example) can not be matched as a combination or even a CLOSE by any other country... So where are all of these "Coins"..? Keep in mind that not everybody in the world lives like people do in the U.S. where they go out and buy luxury items like they are neccessities...

[pavyracer]

Originally Posted by ShamsWoof10

Geeee alll these major sports are playing games abroad at places where they are not popular... Are all these owners that stupid ....or is something else going on here..??????????

A game of Man Utd at New York can easily bring 100 million dollars in revenue from ticket, merchantise, tv, commercials, etc for these teams. The game will be sold out early and the buzz created will help american soccer.

[nasdaq888]

Blatter to block Premier League 39th step plan

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has blasted the Premier League's plans to stage matches overseas and has vowed to block the proposals.


The 20 clubs have agreed in principle to look at each playing an extra match every January in a foreign city - making 39 games a season - but Blatter claimed the Premier League were just interested in trying to earn more money.


Blatter said: 'This will never happen - at least this will not happen as long as I am the president of FIFA.


'Those that are richer than the others, they have more responsibility and what the Premier League is trying to do is contrary to this responsibility.


'This is something I cannot understand and definitely the FIFA executive committee will not sanction such an initiative.


'When it comes to a decision of the executive committee concerning this matter of the 39th round, and I am sure they will be against it, then it will not have a positive impact on the bid from England for the World Cup in 2018.'


Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore plans to meet Blatter, but the FIFA president said the proposals would have to get permission from all the football associations of the countries where the foreign matches would be staged.


'This will be very difficult,' added Blatter. 'This is abuse. The rich Premier League is trying to get richer and wants to expand the importance of that league.'


The FIFA president's criticism follows strong opposition from UEFA counterpart Michel Platini and Asian federation chief Mohamed bin Hammam, and there is now a major doubt about whether the Premier League would even be able to find countries willing to hold the matches.


However, a Premier League spokesman told PA Sport: 'We look forward to the opportunity to meet with FIFA in order to discuss this matter in full.


'This was always the starting point in relation to this issue of sanction of our proposed international round and as such we will be making no further comment until after that time.'

[Wrigley]

NFL needs to keep football in the states and EPL needs to keep soccer in england.

Neither sport is ever going to take off in the other country