Is the Premier League becoming a farce?
The BBC has learnt that at a meeting held in London today, all 20 Premier League teams have agreed a proposal to add an additional 39th game to each Premier League season.
One season currently consists of 38 games, all played in England at venues belonging to clubs within the league. If the Premier League's proposal goes ahead however, a 39th game will be played by all teams at overseas destinations.
Call me sceptical, but could this be one of the worst ideas you've ever heard? According to reports, the 39th game played by all Premier League teams would be held at cities across the world who will be able to bid for the rights to host the matches. Though BBC's sports editor Mihir Bose claims this to be an opportunity "for the Premier League to showcase their product around the world", I believe it to be nothing more than an opportunity for the Premier League and its participating teams to cash-in.
With each of the Premier League teams playing one another twice each season, home and away, it begs the question; who will play who in this 39th game? According to reports, it is believed that the additional fixtures could be determined by a draw. The top five teams however would be seeded and avoid playing against each other.
To make matters worse, it is also believed that this extra 39th game could be the last game of the season for all teams and therefore, it could be the tie that determines who actually wins the league and who gets relegated.
I used to consider football's offside rule to be the most nonsensical component of the sport. If this proposal goes ahead however, we have a new winner. A decision on the proposal isn't expected until the Premier League's annual meeting in June.
