Scudamore believes 39th matches are viable

Richard Scudamore says plans for a 39th English Premier League match have not been scrapped, and the proposal can be tinkered with to conform to FA and FIFA consultations.

The clubs have backed the proposal for each playing a match at a different overseas location. But some federations were not receptive. FIFA president Sepp Blatter expressed vehement opposition. Australia and Japan balked at staging the matches in their nations, while the U.S. said it would follow FIFA's lead.

Scudamore told government officials that the plan is still alive. He did say it will not go forward unless FIFA gives it some form of backing, along with the FA.

Scudamore set a Jan. 2009 deadline for getting proposals and consultations on staging such an event. They are consulting the FA this week. FIFA and the league will meet before the end of February.

FA chair Lord Triesman welcomed the consulting process, but had a number of issues he wanted to see addressed. He was concerned about the national team and England's hopes of hosting the 2018 World Cup, which Blatter said outright would be in jeopardy if the league moved forward with its current plans.

Triesman also wanted the setup to not favour one club over another.

Scudamore said the major issues would be the fixture calendars and match congestion, sanctioning the matches abroad, schedule balance, and supporter reaction.

"English football has benefited enormously from the collectivisation and the solidarity of its Premier League," Scudamore said to government officials. "The interest in our club football undoubtedly generates huge interest in the FA Cup, the Football League, and the Carling Cup. Don't think that our success has been at the exclusion of others. Football in this country has developed together."

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.