A 39th Game: The English Premier League Out of England?

Back in February this year, Chief Executive of the FA, Richard Scudamore, made a proposal for an extra round (39th) to be played in the Premiership—an international round.

Mr. Scudamore's plan was that the extra matches would be staged over one weekend in January in cities that had made a bid for the hosting rights.
 
The controversial idea was opposed by FIFA president Sepp Blatter and, eventually, rejected by the FA.

But did they make the right decision by rejecting it? In my opinion, the answer is yes. The FA has made the right choice.

But if such a proposal had been put into action, what would the positive and negative effects be?

Positive effects:

Firstly, a decision like this one could further popularize the English Premier League. Foreign supporters of English clubs would have the chance to see their favourite clubs live, once a year, in their own countries. Thus, accessibility for "foreign fans" would improve.

In addition, the increase of interest in the EPL would be followed by an increase in revenues. More merchandise would be sold and more money from gate receipts would come in—at least one additional round of gate receipts.

So overall, what we have is not only an expansion of business and the popularity of English football, but also an increase in its commercialisation.

Negative effects:

Looking at the negative side of this issue, the increase in accessibility for foreign fans would, logically, mean a decrease in accessibility for English fans. They would have to travel more to watch their teams play in this additional round.

Furthermore, players would have to travel more and play one extra match. This could lead to fatigue and eventually decrease the quality of the game.

As teams are used to playing on their own ground, playing at “home” in some foreign city would not do them any favours, providing no particular advantage in getting the results they need. Thus, the additional round could also turn out to be a title decider.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has opposed the proposal and warned that it could even harm England’s ambitions to host the World Cup in 2018. Obviously, the FA would not want to put such an event at risk.

The Big Question:

The crux of this argument comes from which point of view we look at the game. Will we look at it as just a business, with an opportunity to make money, or will we look at it as a sport that many people have fallen in love with? I think we have to look at it from the latter because the fans are the most important people in this business/sport (whatever you want to call it).

Without fans there would be no football.