The Premier League faces a defining moment, and La Liga smells opportunity

The idea of Premier League games being played abroad was kicked into the long grass in 2010, but it will return

Arsenal and Manchester United faced off in New Jersey, US, last summer (GETTY IMAGES)

It is an idea that has been kicked around for many a year.

At a shareholder meeting of 20 member Premier League clubs back in February 2008 the idea was proposed, and supported by a number of prominent club owners, that a 39th game would arrive on the calendar of English football’s top tier.

In a month where the Premier League and English Football Association chose to ignore the views of the wider football pyramid and do away with replays in the FA Cup from the first round proper onwards, with the stresses and strains of such a demanding schedule at the top one of the chief reasons for doing so, the idea of a 39th game now seems laughable. And while it might not be an additional game, the idea behind it is almost certain to manifest itself over the coming years.

The idea of ‘Game 39’ was to play an extra round of Premier League matches outside of England in a bid to grow the brand of the world’s most popular domestic football league even further. Markets such as Asia and North America were the targets, both with huge demographics where football was seen to have enormous scope for growth.

The idea was that the games would begin from the 2010/11 season, when a new television broadcast rights deal was to begin. But in the May of 2010, and with former FIFA president Sepp Blatter having expressed his opposition to the idea, it was announced that it was no longer an avenue that the Premier League was actively pursuing.

But just as will happen with the European Super League, whether it be in five, 10, 15, or 20 years time, as certain traditions become held in less high regard by new generations who consume the sport in different ways, there will be a moment in time where the idea is tweaked enough to pacify fans. When the opposition starts to soften, that’s when the moves will be made.